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S A L L U S T, 

F L o a u s, 



- ; 1 



YEILEIUS PATERCULUS, 



ICiterallp ^Translate*, 

TVITH COriOUS NOTES AND A GENERAL INDEX. 



REV. JOHN SELBY WATSON, H.A., 

HEAD MASTER OF TEE PROPRIETARY GRAMMAR SCHOOL, STOCKAVET.L. 



LONDON : 
HENPvY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 






..# 









PREFACE. 



In this volume are presented English Translations of tht 
three Roman Historians, Sallust, Elorus, and Yelleius Pa- 
terculus. 

"Sallust," an eminent scholar once remarked to me, 
u it is more easy to dilute than to transmute" It is hoped that 
in the following pages the reader will find Sallust 5 s Latin 
transmuted into English without any unnecessary dilution, 

Some minor liberties have been taken with his expressions, 
in order to avoid stiffness, and to represent the author fair] 
in an English dress ; but none inconsistent with a faithfr 1 
adherence to his sense. 

On all difficult or disputed passages the commentators 
have been carefully consulted. References have been given 
in the notes, wherever they appeared necessary, as well 
.to the older critics, of whom Cortius is the chief, as to the 
more recent, among whom the principal are Gerlach, Kritz, 
and Diet sch r 

All the Eragments of Sallust that can be of any inte- 
rest to the EDglish reader, have been translated: and that 
nothing might be wanting to render the work complete, 
versions of the spurious Epistles to Ca3sar, which present a 
good imitation of Sallust' s style, and of the Declamations 
which pass under the names of Sallust and Cicero, have been 
added. 

The text at first intended to be followed was that of Cor- 
tius ; but the readings given by later critics appeared often so 
much better, that they were adopted in- preference ; indeed, 
the present version approaches nearer to the text of Kritz 
than to that of any other editor. 




CONTENTS. 

.ORTTS, whose work lias come down to us entire, is ren- 
;d with similar care and fidelity. The text chiefly fol- 
;ed is that of Duker. 

"What remains of Velleitjs Paterculus, with whom time 
A as dealt hardly, had been so well translated, in many places, 
by Baker, that much of his phraseology has been adopted 
in the present version. The text followed is that of Krause, 
whose corrections and comments, had they appeared earlier, 
might have saved Baker from the commission of some extra- 
ordinarv blunders. J. S. W. 



CONTEXTS. 

PAGE 

Biographical Notice of Sallust v 

. Florus . xii 

_ Velleius Paterculus xv 

Sallust : 

Conspiracy of Catiline 1 

Chronology of the Conspiracy of Catiline . . . 79 

The Jugurthine War 82 

Chronology of the Jugurthine War . . . . 211 

Fragments . 216 

Two Epistles to Julius Cjesar, on the Government of the 

State 250 

Pseudo-Sallust's Declamation against Cicero . . .£76 
Pseudo-Cicero's Declamation against Sallust . . . . 280 
Florus: 

Book 1 287 

II 314 

Ill 348 

IV 3S9 

Velleius Paterculus : 

Book I 425 

II 443 

Index 548 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF SALLUST. 



Sallust was born at Amiternum, a town in the Sabine territory, on 
the first of October 1 , in the year six hundred and sixty-six 2 from 
the foundation of Rome, eighty- seven years before Christ, and in the 
.seventh consulship of Marius. 

The name of his father was Caius Sallustius 3 ; that of his mother is 
unknown. His family was thought by Crinitus, and some others, to have 
been patrician, but by Gerlach, and most of the later critics, is pro- 
nounced to have been plebeian, because he held the office of tribune of 
the people, because he makes observations unfavourable to the nobility 
in his writings, and because his .grandson, according to Tacitus 4 , was 
only of equestrian rank. 

The ingenuity of criticism has been exercised in determining 
whether his name should be written with a double or single /. Jerome 
Wolfius 5 , and Gerlach, are in favour of the single letter, depending 
chiefly on inscriptions, and on the presumption that the name is 
derived from salus or sal. But inscriptions vary; the etymology of the 
word is uncertain ; and to derive it from sal would authorise either 
mode of spelling. All the Latin authors, both in prose and poetry, 
have the name with the double letter, and it seems better, as Yos- 
%Ius 6 remarks, to adhere to their practice. Among the Greeks, Dion 
and Eusebius have the single letter ; in some other writers it is found 
$6ubled. 

Another question raised respecting his name, is whether he should be 
called Sallustius Crispus, or Crispus Sallustius. The latter mode is 
adopted by Le Clerc, Cortius, Havercamp, and some other critics; 
but De Brosscs 7 argues conclusively in favour of the former method ; 
as Sallustius, from its termination, is evidently the name of the 
family or gens ; and Crispus, which denotes quelgue habitude du corps. 
only a surname to distinguish one of its branches. Crispus Sal- 
lustius is found, indeed, in manuscripts ; and, according to Ccrtius, in 
the best ; but on what reasonable grounds can it be justified? It was 

1 Euseb. Chron. 2 Clinton, Fast. Rom. 

3 De Brosses, Vie de Sail, § 2 ; Glandorp. Onomast. 

4 Ann., iii., 30. 5 Apud Voss. 

■ Vit. Sail. 7 Vie de Sail., § 1. 



VI BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF SALLTJST. 

perhaps adopted by some copyist from the ode of Horace 1 addressed to 
Sallust's nephew, and inconsiderately continued by his successors. 

He was removed .early in life to Rome, that he might be educated 
under Atteius Praetextatus, a celebrated grammarian of that age, who 
styled himself Philologus, and who was afterwards tutor to Asinius 
Pollio 2 . Atteius treated Sallust with very great distinction 3 . 

He may be supposed to have soon grown conscious of his powers 4 ; 
and appears at an early period of his life to have devoted Iiimself to 
study, with an intention to distinguish himself in history 5 . 

His devotion to literature, however, was not so great as to detain 
him from indulgence in pleasure ; for he became, if we allow any 
credit to the old declaimer, infamous, cetatis tirocinio, for debauchery 
and extravagance. He took possession of his father's house in his 
father's lifetime, and sold it ; an act by which he brought his father to 
the grave; and he was twice, for some misconduct, arraigned before the 
magistrates, and escaped on both occasions only through the perjury 
of his judges' 5 . 

When we cite this rhetorician, we must not forget that we cite an 
anonymous reviler, yet we must suppose with Gerlach, and with 
JJeisner, the German translator of Sallust, that we quote a writer who 
grounded his invectives on reports and opinions current at the time in 
which he lived. 

Sallust next thought of aspiring to political distinction 7 ; but "the 
usual method of attaining notice," says De Brosses 8 , "which was to 
secure friends and clients by pleading the causes of individuals at the 
bar, he seems not to have adopted ;" since, as is known, no orations 
spoken by him are in existence, and, as is thought, no mention is made 
of such orations in any other author. 

Mention, however, is made of orations of Sallust, at whatever time ; 
delivered, in the well-known passage of Seneca the rhetorician 9 . 
When Seneca inquired of Cassius Severus. why he, who was so emineoijM 
in pleading important causes, displayed so little talent in pronounci' 
fictitious declamations, the orator replied, Quod in me miraris, pi 
omnibus evenit, fyc. Orationes Sallustii in honorem historiarum leguntur. 
" What you think extraordinary in me, is common to all men of ability. 
■ The greatest geniuses, to whom I am conscious of my great inferiority, 
have generally excelled only in one species of composition. The felicity 
of Virgil in poetry deserted him in prose ; the eloquence of Cicero's 
orations is not to be found in his verses ; and the speeches of Sallust 
are read only as a foil to his histories." The speeches which are here 

i Od., ii., 2, 3. 2 suet, de 111. Gramm., c. 10. 

3 Ibid. 4 Pseudo-Sail. Kp. to OfW., i., 10. 6 Cat., c. 4. 

e Pseudo-Cic. in Sail., c. 5. ' Cat., c. 3. ■ Vie de Sail., c. 3. 

Praef. in Controv., 1. iii., p. 231, ed. Par. 1607. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF SALLL'ST. Vll 

meant, are not, as has been generally imagined, those inserted in the 
histories, but others, which Sallust had spoken. This view of the pas- 
sage was first taken by Antonius Augustimis, and communicated 
by him to Schottus, who mentioned it in his annotations on Se- 
neca 1 . 

But by whatever means he secured support, he had at length suffi- 
cient interest to obtain a qusestorship 2 ; the tenure of which gave him 
admission into the senate. It would appear that he was about thirty- 
one years of age when he attained this honour 3 . 

It must have been about this period that his adventure with Fausta, 
the daughter of Sylla and wife of Milo, occurred, of which a short account 
is given by Aulus Gellius 4 in an extract from Yarro. The English 
reader may take it in the version of Beloe: " Marcus Yarro, a man of 
great authority and weight in his writings and life, in his publication 
entitled ' Pius, 5 or ' De Pace,' records that Caius Sallust, the author of 
that grave and serious composition, (serice illius et severce orationis,) in 
which he has exercised the severity of the censorial office, in taking 
cognisance of crimes, being taken by Annseus Milo in adultery, was 
well scourged, and, after paying a sum of money, dismissed." The 
same story is told, on the authority of Asconius Pedianus the bio- 
grapher of Sallust, by Aero and Porphyrio, the scholiasts on Horace, 
who, they think, had it in his min d when he wrote the words, Illeflagellis 
ad mortem ccesus 5 . Servius, also, in his note on Quique ob adulter ium 
ccEsi, in the sixth book of the iEneid 6 , tells a like tale, adding that 
Sallust entered the house in the habit of a slave, and was caught in 
that disguise by Milo. 

Such being the case, it is not wonderful that when Sallust entered 
on his tribuneship of the people, to which he was elected in the year of 
the city seven hundred, he seized an opportunity which occurred of 
being revenged on Milo, who had shortly before killed Clodius. He joined 
with his colleagues, Pompeius Rufus and Plancus, in inflaming the 
populace, and charging Milo with premeditated hostility 7 . They inti- 
midated Cicero, Milo's advocate, insinuating that he had planned the 
assassination 8 ; and the matter ended in Milo's banishment 9 . During 
| the progress of the trial, however, it is said that Sallust abated his 
1 hostility to Milo and Cicero, and even became friendly with them 10 . 
How this reconciliation was effected, does not appear; but it seems 
certain that Cicero, when he attacked Plancus. Sallust's colleague, for 
exciting the populace to turbulence, left Sallust himself unmolested 11 . 

1 P. 234, ed. Par. 1607. * p SGlu lo-Cic., in Sail., c. 0. 

3 Adam's Piom. Antiquities, p. 4. 4 xvii 18. 

a Sat., i., 2, 41. ■ Ver. 612. 

7 Ascon. Pedian. in Cic. Orat. pro Milo., c. 17; Cic. MO., c. 5. 

8 Ascon. Pedian. in Cic. Mil., c. 18. 9 Dion. Cap., lib. xl. 
10 Ascon. Ped., ubi supra. » Ascon. Ped. in Cic. Mil., c. 35. 



Vlll BIOGRAPHICAL KOTICE OF SALLUST. 

Unmolested, however, he did not long remain ; for in the year of the 
city seven hundred and four, in the censorship of Appius Claudius 
Pulcher and Lucius Calpurnius Piso, Appius, actuated by two motives, 
one of which was to serve Pompey, by excluding from the senate such 
as were hostile to him 1 , and the other to throw into the shade his own 
private irregularities by an ostentatious discharge of his public duties 2 , 
expelled Sallust from the senate on pretence that he was a flagrantly 
immoral character 3 . 

But Appius, by this proceeding, instead of serving Pompey, served 
Caesar; for many who had previously been favourable to Pompey, or 
had continued neutral, betook themselves immediately to Caesar's camp; 
in the number of whom was Sallust 4 . 

His attendance on Caesar did not go unrewarded; for when Ceesar 
returned from Spain, after his victory over Afranius and Petreius, he 
restored Sallust, with others under similar circumstances 5 , to his seat 
in the senate; and as it was not usual for a senator, who had been 
degraded from his rank, to be reinstated in it without being at the same 
time elected to an office, he was again made quaestor 6 , or, as Dion 
thinks, praetor. 

He was then intrusted with some military command, and sent into 
Illyria, where, as Orosius 7 states, he was one of those that were defeated 
by the Pompeian leaders Octavius and Libo. 

Afterwards, when the war in Egypt and Asia was finished, but while 
the remains of Pompey 's army, headed by Scipio and Cato, were still 
menacing hostilities in Africa, Sallust, with the title of praetor, was 
dircted to conduct against them a body of troops from Campania 8 . 
But Sallust was intrusted with more than he was able to perform. 
The soldiers mutinied on the coast, compelled him to flee, and hur- 
ried away to Rome, putting to death two senators in their way. It was 
on this occasion that Caesar humbled them by addressing them as 
Quirites instead of commilitones 9 . 

Sallust was then reinstated in command, and was sent, during the 
African war, to the island of Cercina, to bring off a quantity of corn 
that had been deposited there by the enemy ; a commission which he 
successfully executed 10 . 

Whether he performed any other service for Caesar in this war, 
we have no account; but Caesar, when it was ended, thought him a 
person of such consequence, that he gave him the government of Nu- 

1 Dion. Cap., xl., 63. 2 Cic. Ep. ad Fam., viii., 14. 

3 Dion., ib. 4 Pseudo-Cic. in Sail., c. 6. Gerlach, Vit. Sail., p. 7. 

5 Suet. J. Cses., c. 41. « p S eudo-Cic, c. 6, 8. 

7 Lib. vi. 15. Gerlach, Vit. Sail., p. 7. 8 Dion. Cass., xlii., 52. 

9 Dion., ib. Appian. B. C, ii., 92. Plut. in Coos. Suet. J. Caes., e. 10. 

10 Hirt. B. A., c. 8, 24. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF SALLTJST. IX 

midia, with the title of pro-consul. " He received the province from 
Caesar," says Dion, " nominally to govern it, but in reality to ravage 
and plunder it." Whether such was Caesar's intention or not, it is 
generally believed that he enriched himself by the spoil of it to the 
greatest possible extent 1 . 

When his term of office, which seems to have been only a year, was 
expired, he "appeared at Rome," says the declaimer, "like a man 
enriched in a dream." But the Numidians followed him, and accused 
him of extortion ; a charge from which he was only acquitted through 
the interposition of Caesar 2 , to whom he is said to have presented a 
bribe 3 . 

The trial had not been long concluded when Caesar was assassinated, 
and Sallust, being thus deprived of his patron, seems to have with- 
drawn entirely from public life. He purchased a large tract of ground 
on the Quirinal hill, where he erected a splendid mansion, and laid out 
those magnificent gardens of which so much has been related, Their 
extent must have been vast, if De Brosses, who visited the spot in 
1739. obtained any just notion of it 4 . But some have thought them 
much smaller. He had also a country-house at Tibur, which had 
belo nged to Julius Caesar 5 . 

It was during this period of retirement, as is supposed, that he 
married Terentia, the divorced wife of Cicero, if, indeed, he married 
her at all; for their union rests on no very strong testimony 6 . 

It was at this time, too, it would appear, that he commenced the 
composition of history, with a view to the perpetuation of his name; 
for he entered on it, he says, when his mind was free from " hope, fear, 
or political partisanship 7 ;" and to no other time of his life are such ex- 
pressions applicable. Dion seems to have supposed that he appeared 
as a historian before he went to Numidia, but is in all probability 
mistaken. 

Sallust died on the thirteenth of May, in the year of the city seven 
hundred and eighteen, in the fifty- second year of his age s , leaving his 
grand-nephew, Caius Sallustius Crispus, whom want of children had 
induced him to adopt, heir to all his possessions. His gardens, some 
years after his death, became imperial property 9 . 

Such were the events, as far as we learn, of the life of Sallust ; and 
such is the notion which the voice of antiquity teaches us to form of 

1 Dion., xliii, 9. Pseudo-Cic, c. 7. 2 Dion., xliii., 9. 

s Pseudo-Cic, c. 7. 4 De Brosses, (Euv. de Sail., vol. iii., p. 363. 

5 Pseudo-Cic, c. 7. 

! - Hieronym. adv. Jovin., i., 48. Gerlach, vol. ii., p. 8. De Brosses, torn, iii., 
p. 355. Le Clerc, Vit. Sail. 
7 Cat., c 4. 
s Enseb. Chron. Clinton, Fasti. 9 See De Brosses, torn, iii., p. 368. 



X BI0GEAPH1CAL NOTICE OF SALLUST. 

his moral character. In modern times, some attempts have been made 
to prove that he was less vicious than he was anciently represented. 

Among those who have attempted to clear him of the charges usually 
brought against him, are Miiller 1 , Wieland 2 , and Roos 3 ; who are strenu- 
ously opposed by Gerlach 4 and Loebell 5 . The points on which his cham- 
pions chiefly endeavour to defend him, are the adventure with Fausta, 
and the spoliation of Numidia. Of the three, Miiller is the most 
enterprising. With regard to the affair of Fausta, he sets himself 
boldly to impugn the authority of Varro or Gellius, on which it chiefly 
rests ; and his reasoning is as follows : That such writers as Gellius are 
not always to be trusted; that Gellius often quoted from memory; that 
he cites older authors on the testimony of later authors; that he 
speaks of Varro, fide homo multa et gravis, as if he were a contempo- 
rary that needed commendation, not the well-known Yarro whose 
character was established; 'that the Varro of Gellius may therefore 
be a later Varro, whose book, a Pius," or "De Pace," may have been 
about Antoninus Pius, under whom Gellius lived, and who may have 
been utterly mistaken in what he said of Sallust ; and that, conse- 
quently, the passage in Gellius is to be suspected. Respecting the 
plunder of Numidia, his arguments are, that the province was given 
to Sallust to spoil, not for himself, but for Caesar; that of the money 
obtained from it, the chief part was given to Caesar; and that, conse- 
quently, Caesar, not Sallust, is to bear the blame for what was done. 

But such conjectures produce no more impression on the mind of a 
reader than Walpole's " Historic Doubts" concerning Richard the Third. 
They suggest something that may have been, but bring no proof of 
what actually was; they may be allowed to be ingenious, but the 
general voice of history is still believed. To all Muller's suggestions 
Gerlach exclaims, Credat Judceus ! Were there, in the pages of anti- 
quity, a single record or remark favourable to the moral character of 
Sallust, there would then be a point oVappui from which to commence 
an attack on what is said against him ; but the case, alas ! is exactly 
the reverse ; wherever Sallust is characterised as a man, he is charac- 
terised unfavourably. 

— His writings consisted of his narratives of the Conspiracy of Catiline 
and the War with Jugurtha, and of a History of Rome in five books, 
extending from the death of Sylla to the beginning of the Mithridatic 
war. The Catiline and Jugurtha have reached us entire; but of 
the History there now remain only four speeches, two letters, and 
a number of smaller fragments preserved among the grammarians. 

1 C. Sallustius Crispus, Leipzig, 1817. 2 Ad. Hor. Sat., i., 2, 48. 

3 Einige Bemerk. ub. den Moral Char, des Sallust. Prog. Giesse?i,, 1788, 4to. 
See Frotscher's note on Le Clerc's Life of Sail., init. 

Vit. Sail., p. 9, seq. 5 Zur Beurtheilung des Sail., Breslau, 1818. 



BIOGEAPHICAL NOTICE OF SALLTJST. XI 

That he was not the author of the Epistles to Caesar, the reader will 
find satisfactorily shown in the remarks prefixed to the translation of 
them in the present volume. 

... Sallust is supposed to have formed his style on that of Thucydides 1 ; 
I but he has far excelled his model, if not in energy, certainly in con- 
ciseness and perspicuity of expression. " The speeches of Thu- 
cydides," says Cicero 2 , "contain so many dark and intricate passages, 
that they are scarcely understood." No such complaint can be made 
of any part of the writings of Sallust. " From any sentence in Thu- 
cydides," says Seneca the rhetorician 3 , " however remarkable for its 
conciseness, if a word or two be taken away, the sense will remain, it 
not equally ornate, yet equally entire ; but from the periods of Sallust 
nothing can be deducted without detriment to the meaning." Apud 
§n±ditas aures, says Quintilian 4 , nihil potest esse perfectius. ]/ 

±ne defects of his style are, that he wants the Jiumen orationis so 
much admired in Livy and Herodotus 3 ; that his transitions are often 
abrupt ; and that he too much affects antique phraseology 6 . But no 
writer can combine qualities that are incompatible. He is justly 
preferred by Quintilian 7 to Livy, and well merits the praise given him 
by Tacitus 8 and Martial 9 , of being rerum Romanarumflorentissimus auctor, 
and Romand primus in historid . 

Of the numerous editions of Sallust, that of Cortius, which appeared 
at Leipsic in 1724, and has been often reprinted, long indisputably 
held the first rank. But Cortius, as an editor, was somewhat too 
fond of expelling from his text all words that he could possibly pro- 
nounce superfluous; and succeeding editors, as Gerlach, (Basil. 1823,) 
Kritz, (Leipsic, 1834,) and Dietsch, (Leipsic, 1846,) have judiciously 
restored many words that he had discarded, and produced texts more 
acceptable in many respects to the generality of students. 

Sallust has been many times translated into English. The versions 
most deserving of notice are those of Gordon, (1744,) Rose, (1751,) 
Murphy, (1807,) and Peacock, (1845). Gordon has vigour, but wants 
polish; Rose is close and faithful, but often dry and hard; Murphy 
is sprightly, but verbose and licentious, qualities in which his admirer, 
Sir Henry Steuart, (1806,) went audaciously beyond him; Mr. Pea- 
cock's translation is equally faithful with that of Rose, and far exceeds 
it in general ease and agreeableness of style. 

* Veil. Pat, ii., 36. 2 Oat, c. 9. 3 Controvers., iv., 24. 

4 Inst Or., x., 1. 5 Monboddo, Origin and Prog, of Language, vol. ii., p. 200. 

fi Quint. Inst. Or., viii., 3. 7 Inst. Or., ii., 5. 

8 Ann., iii., 30. 9 xiv., 191. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF FLORUS. 



Concerning Moras scarcely anything is known. That he lived in 
the reign of Trajan is apparent from the end of his Preface, where he 
says that the Roman empire sub Trojano principe movet lacertos, " raises 
its arms under the emperor Trajan." He there reckons, according to 
the common reading, CC years from the reign of Augustus to his own 
times, but as the period between the reign of Augustus and the end of 
that of Trajan included only CXLIII years, Vossius 1 is of opinion 
that we ought to read CL. 

The same critic, following Salmasius, supposes that he survived 
Trajan, and that he is the Florus to whom Spartianus alludes in his 
life of Hadrian, Trajan's successor. But the identity of the two is ex- 
tremely uncertain. Indeed, it has been doubted whether the author of 
the Erjitome has any right to the name of Floras, for in some manuscripts 
he is called only Lucius Annaeus, and Lactantius was accordingly dis- 
posed to attribute the work to Lucius Annaeus Seneca, the philosopher. 
But Salmasius 2 , in a manuscript of great accuracy, which he considered 
to be more than eight hundred years old, found the name written Lucius 
Annceus Florus, and Florus he will probably continue to be called. 

From his name Annaeus, he is generally supposed to have been a 
native of Spain, and of the same descent as Seneca and Lucan 3 . In 
commencing his work, he seems to have purposed to write as a foreigner; 
for through the whole of the first book he makes no use of the pro- 
nouns nos and noster, which appear for the first time in the second 
chapter of the second book. 

As a historian, he is of little authoritv. His work, it has been ob- 

1 De Historicis Latinis. 2 Pref. to Florus. 3 Bunr. ad Quintil., x., 3. 



BIOGEAPHICAL NOTICE OF FLOBUS. Xlll 

served, is rather a panegyric on the Romans, than an accurate history 
of their actions. "He commits," says Rupertus 1 , "many a meta- 
chronism, and many a prochronism." His geography is not much 
better than his chronology. He seems to have been far more studious 
about his style than his matter. 

His style is, indeed, far too much studied. It is all floridity and 
affectation, and can please no reader of good taste. There is in it, as 
has been remarked 2 , a poetical tumour, of which a judicious historian 
; would be ashamed. His pages are full of laboured conceits, such as all 
: students, ambitious of a good style, must avoid. He is childishly fond 
■ of parenthetical exclamations, as, O nefas ! O pudor ! Horribile dictu I 
which can be regarded only with derision. His love of brevity has ren- 
dered his meaning sometimes obscure. Were a person to come to the 
perusal of Florus, without having previously learned anything of Roman 
history, he would be sadly puzzled to ascertain his meaning in many 
places. 

Of his conceits the following are specimens. When he relates the 
prodigy of the statue of Apollo perspiring at Cumse, he says that the 
exsudation proceeded from the concern of the god for his dear Asia 3 . 
When he speaks of the head of Cicero being set on the Rostra, he ob- 
serves that the people went to see him in no smaller numbers than they 
? had previously gone to hear him 4 . When he describes the large ships 
of Antony, he remarks that they moved not without groaning on the 
part of the sea, and fatigue on that of the winds 3 . When he states that 
Caesar returned from Britain over a calm sea, he adds that the ocean 
seemed to acknowledge itself unequal to cope with him 6 . When he tells 
of Fabius Maximus attacking the enemy from a higher ground, he 
says that the aspect of the battle was as if weapons had been hurled on 
giants from the sky 7 . When he mentions that the Gauls were con- 
stant enemies of Rome, he speaks of them as a whetstone on which the 
Romans might sharpen their swords 8 . Abundance of other examples 
might be given, but something of the exquisiteness of the conceits is 
lost in a translation. 

Of his character as a man nothing can be gathered from his writings, 
except that he was not free from superstition 9 . 

Whether he was the author of the arguments to the books of Livy, 
which are printed with his History in some editions, it would be useless 
to attempt to discover. 

Translations of Florus are not numerous. In English I have seen 

1 Ad Flori Prooera., init. 2 Rupert, ad Flor., i., 13, 17. 3 Lib. ii., c. 8. 
4 Lib. iv., c. 7. 5 Lib. iv., c. 11. 6 Lib. iii., c. 10. 

7 Lib. i., c. 17. 8 Lib. ii, c. 3. 9 Lib. iv., c. 2., Jin. atque alibi. 



XIV 



BIOGKAPHICAL NOTICE OF FLOftTJS. 



three; an anonymous one, printed at Oxford in 1636, which was full of 
mistakes, but was afterwards revised by Meric Casaubon, and re- 
printed in 1658; another by John Davies, published in 1672, which is 
neither very faithful to the sense, nor elegant in language, even for the 
time at which it was written; and a third by John Clarke, the trans- 
lator of Suetonius and other Latin authors, which is sufficiently true to 
the sense, but utterly contemptible in style- 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF CAIUS VELLEIUS 
PATERCULITS. 



Of Velleius Paterculus, as of Floras, we obtain no information but 
from his own pages. He is not even named, as far as we know, by any 
ancient writer, unless he be the Marcus Yelleius, from whom Priscian 
quotes a few words in his sixth book; for what his praenomenwas is not 
at all certain; since Ehenanus, who published the editio princeps from 
the only manuscript which was then extant, and which has since been 
lost, calls him Caius in his title, and Publius in his index. 

The year of his birth is uncertain, but he is conjectured by Dodwell 
to have been born in the seven hundred and thirty -fifth year from the 
foundation of Rome, or the nineteenth before Christ ; the same year in 
which Virgil died. 

He was of an equestrian family in Campania, one of the distinguished 
members of which was Decius Magius 1 , who adhered to the Romans 
in the second Punic war. His grandfather served in the army, under 
Brutus and Cassius, and afterwards under Claudius Kero, as prqfectus 
fabrum, captain of the artificers or engineers 2 . His father, whom he 
does not name, was prsefect of cavalry; an office in which his son suc- 
ceeded him, and served for nine years under Tiberius Cassar in Ger- 
many 3 . He had previously been a military tribune 4 , and was after- 
wards quaestor 5 and praetor 6 . 

He wrote his book, in or after the year a.u.c. 783, when Marcus 
Vinicius, to whom he dedicates it, was consul. He composed it in great 
haste, being hurried on, he says, with the rapidity of a wheel or torrent 7 ; 
but the cause of such haste does not appear. It is called by his editors 
a Roman History, but the fragment of the first book shows that it also 
contained a large portion of the History of Greece. The manuscript of 
his work, which I have mentioned above, was found by Rhenanus in 
the convent of Murbach in Alsace; a collation of it, appended to the 

1 Veil. Tat., ii., 16. 2 ii., 76. 3 ii., 104. 4 ii., 101. 5 ii., 111. 

6 ii., 124. 7 i., 16. 



XVI NOTICE OF CAIUS YELLEIUS PATERCULUS. 

edition of 1546, was made by Burer before it was returned to the con- 
vent 1 . 

He intended to write a larger history 2 , but whether he executed his 
intention is unknown. 

His philosophical tenets seem to have been, or to have resembled, 
those of Epicurus 3 . 

The time of his death is uncertain; but Lipsius conjectures that he 
may have been involved in the ruin of Sejanus, to whom he seems to 
have attached himself, and whom, as well as Tiberius, he is censured 
for having grossly flattered. His flattery, however, seems to have con- 
sisted rather in concealing their faults, than in attributing to them 
imaginary virtues. 

His style is animated and energetic, but rough and unpolished ; his 
sentences are too long, and often clogged with parentheses. 

He has twice before been translated into English; by New comb, 
1721, a rude and unfaithful version ; and by Baker, 1814, a performance 
resembling in style the Livy of the same writer. 

i Krause, p. 48, 49. 2 ii., 48, 96, 99, atque alibi 3 ii., 66, 123. 



CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The Introduction, I. — IV. The character of Catiline, V. Virtues of the 
ancient Romans, VI. — IX. Degeneracy of their posterity, X. — XIII. Cati- 
line's associates and supporters, and the arts by which he collected them, XIV. 
His crimes and wretchedness, XV. His tuition of his accomplices, and resolu- 
tion to subvert the government, XVI. His convocation of the conspirators, 
and their names, XVII. His concern in a former conspiracy, XVIII., XIX. 
Speech to the conspirators, XX. His promises to them, XXI. His sup- 
posed ceremony to unite them, XXII. His designs discovered by Fulvia, 
XXIII. His alarm on the election of Cicero to the consulship, and his design 
in engaging women in his cause, XXIV. His accomplice, Sempronia, charac- 
terised, XXV. His ambition of the consulship, his plot to assassinate Cicero, 
and his disappointment in both, XXVI. His mission of Manlius into Etruria, 
and his second convention of the conspirators, XXVII. His second attempt 
to kill Cicero; his directions to Manlius well observed, XXVIIt. His machi- 
nations induce the Senate to confer extraordinary power on the consuls, XXIX. 
His proceedings are opposed by various precautions, XXX. His effrontery in 
the Senate, XXXI. He sets out for Etruria, XXXII. His accomplice, Man- 
lius, sends a deputation to Marcius, XXXIII. His representations to various 
respectable characters, XXXIV. His letter to Catulus, XXXV. His arrival 
at Manlius's camp ; he is declared an enemy by the Senate ; his adherents con- 
tinue faithful and resolute, XXXVI. The discontent and disaffection of the 
populace in Rome, XXXVII. The old contentions between the patricians and 
plebeians, XXXVIII. The effect which a victory of Catiline would have 
produced, XXXIX. The Allobroges are solicited to engage in the con- 
spiracy, XL. They discover it to Cicero, XLI. The incaution of Catiline's 
accomplices in Gaul and Italy, XLII. The plans of his adherents at Rome, 
XLIII. The Allobroges succeed in obtaining proofs of the conspirators' 
guilt, XLIV. The Allobroges and Volturcius are arrested by the contrivance 
of Cicero, XLV. The principal conspirators at Rome are brought before the 
Senate, XL VI. The evidence against them, and their consignment to cus- 
tody, XL VII. The alteration in the minds of the populace, and the sus- 
picions entertained against Crassus, XL VIII. The attempts of Catulus and 
Piso to criminate Caesar, XLIX. " The plans of Lentulus and Cethegus for 
their rescue, and the deliberations of the Senate, L. The speech of Caesar on 
the mode of punishing the conspirators, LI. The speech of Cato on the same 
subject, LII. The condemnation of the prisoners ; the causes of Roman great- 

B 



i SALLTTST. 

ness, LIII. Parallel between Csesar and Cato, LIV. The execution of the 
criminals, LV. Catiline's warlike preparations in Etruria, LVI. He is com- 
pelled by Metellus and Antonius to hazard an action, LVII. His exhortation 
to his men, LVIII. His arrangements, and those of his opponents, for the 
battle, LIX. His bravery, defeat, and death, LX., LXI. 



I. It becomes all men, who desire to excel other animals 1 , 
to strive, to the utmost of their power 2 , not to pass through 
life in obscurity 3 , like the beasts of the field 4 , which nature 
has formed grovelling 5 and subservient to appetite. 

1 I. Desire to excel other animals] Sese student prcestare cceteris animalibus. 
The pronoun, which was usually omitted, is, says Cortius, not without its force ; 
for it is equivalent to ut ipsi: student ut ipsi prcestent. In support of his opinion 
he quotes, with other passages, Plaut. Asinar. i., 3, 31 : Vult piacere sese arnica?, 
i. e.vult ut ipse amicce placeat ; and Ccelius Antipater apudFestum in " Topper:" 
Ita uti sese quisque vobis studeat asmulari, i. e. studeat ut ipse cemuletur. This 
explanation is approved by Bernouf. Cortius might have added Cat. 7 : sese 
quisque hostem ferire—properabat. " Student," Cortius interprets by " cu- 
piunt," 

2 To the utmost of their power] Summd ope, with their utmost ability. " A 
Sallustian mode of expression. Cicero would have said summd opera, summo 
studio, summd contentione. Ennius has ' Summa nituntur opum vV " Colerus. 

3 In obscurity] Silentio. So as to have nothing said of them, either during 
their lives or at their death. So in c. 2 : Eorum ego vitam mortemque juxta 
cestumo, quoniam de utrdque siletur. When Ovid says, Bene qui latuit, bene 
vixit, and Horace, Nee vixit male, qui vivens moriensquefefellit, they merely sig- 
nify that he has some comfort in life, who, in ignoble obscurity, escapes trouble 
and censure. But men thus undistinguished are, in the estimation of Sallust, 
little superior to the brute creation. " Optimus quisque," says Muretus, quoting 
Cicero, " honoris et glorise studio maxime ducitur ;" the ablest men are most ac- 
tuated by the desire of honour and glory, and are more solicitous about the cha- 
racter which they will bear among posterity. With reason, therefore, does Pallas, 
in the Odyssey, address the following exhortation to Telemachus : 

" Hast thou not heard how young Orestes, fiVd 

With great revenge, immortal praise acquir'd ? 

* * * * * 

greatly bless'd with ev'ry blooming grace, 
With equal steps the paths of glory trace ! 
Join to that royal youth's your rival name, 
And shine eternal in the sphere of fame." 

4 Like the beasts of the field]. Veluti pecora. Many translators have rendered 
pecora " brutes " or " beasts ;" pecus, however, does not mean brutes in genera], 
but answers to our English word cattle. 

5 Grovelling] Prona. I have adopted grovelling from Mair's old translation. 



co:n t spieacy of catiline. 6 

• All our power is situate in the mind and in the body 1 . 
Of the mind we rather employ the government 2 ; of the hody, 

Pronus, stoopiDg to the earth, is applied to cattle, in opposition to erectus, which 
is applied to man ; as in the following lines of Ovid, Met. i., 76 : 
"Pronaque cum spectent animalia csetera terram, 
Os homini snblime dedit, ccelumque tueri 
Jussit, et erectos ad sidera tollere vultus." 

u while the mute creation downward bend 

Their sight, and to their earthly mother tend, 
Man looks aloft, and with erected eyes 
Beholds his own hereditary skies." Dry den. 

Which Milton (Par. L. vii., 502) has paraphrased : 

" There wanted yet the master-work, the end 
Of all yet done ; a creature, who not prone 
And brute as other creatures, but endued 
With sanctity of reason, might erect 
His stature, and upright with front serene 
Govern the rest, self-knowing, and from thence 
Magnanimous to correspond with heaven." 
So Silius Italicus, xv., 84 : 

" Nonne vides hominum ut celsos ad sidera vultus 
Sustulerit Deus, et sublimia finxerit ora, 
Ciim pecudes, volucrumque genus, formasque ferarum, 
Segnem atque obsccenam passim stravisset in alvum." 
" See'st thou not how the Deity has rais'd 
The countenance of man erect to heav'n, 
Gazing sublime, while prone to earth he bent 
Th' inferior tribes, reptiles, and pasturing herds, 
And beasts of prey, to appetite enslav'd?" 
41 When Nature," says Cicero de Legg. i., 9, " had made other animals abject, 
and consigned them to the pastures, she made man alone upright, and raised 
him to the contemplation of heaven, as of his birthplace and former abode ;" a 
passage which Dryden seems to have had in his mind when he translated the 
lines of Ovid cited above. Let us add Juvenal, xv., 146 : 

" Sensum a ccelesti demissum traximus arce, 

Cujus egent prona et terram spectantia." 
" To us is reason giv'n, of heav'nly birth, 
Denied to beasts, that prone regard the earth." 

1 All our power is situate in the mind and in the body] Sed omnis nostra 
vis in animo et corpore sita. All our power is placed, or consists, in our mind 
and our body. The particle sed, which is merely a connective, answering to the 
Greek Se, and which would be useless in an English translation, I have 
omitted. 

2 Of the mind we — employ the government] Animi imperio — utimur. " Wiiat 
the Deity is in the universe, the mind is in man ; what matter is to the universe, 
the body is to us ; let the worse, therefore, serve the better." — Sen. Epist. lxv. 

b2 



4 SALLUST. 

the service 1 . The one is common to us with the gods ; the 
other with the brutes. It appears to me, therefore, more 
reasonable 2 to pursue glory by means of the intellect than of 
bodily strength, and, since the life which we enjoy is short, 
to make the remembrance of us as lasting as possible. For 
the glory of w r ealth and beauty is fleeting and perishable ; 
that of intellectual power is illustrious and immortal 3 . 

Yet it was long a subject of dispute among mankind, 

Dux et imperator vitce mortalium animus est, the mind is the guide and ruler of 
the life of mortals. — Jug. c. 1. " An animal consists of mind and body,, of which 
the one is formed by nature to rule, and the other to obey." — Aristot. Polit. i., 5. 
Muretus and Graswinckel will supply abundance of similar passages. 

1 Of the mind we rather employ the government; of the body, the service] 
Animi imperio, corporis servitio, magis utimur. The word magis is not to be re- 
garded as useless. " It signifies," says Cortius, u that the mind rules, and the 
body obeys, in general, and with greater reason." At certain times the body may 
seem to have the mastery, as when we are under the irresistible influence of hunger 
or thirst. 

2 It appears tome, therefore, more reasonable, <$-c] Quo mihi rectius videtur, 
$c. I have rendered quo by therefore. " Quo" observes Cortius, " is propter 
quod, with the proper force of the ablative case. So Jug. c. 84: Quo mihi 
acrius adnitendum est, &c. ; c. 2, Quo magis pravitas eorum admiranda est. Some 
expositors would force us to believe that these ablatives are inseparably con- 
nected with the comparative degree, as in quo minus, eo major, and similar ex- 
pressions; whereas common sense shows that they cannot be so connected. ,, 
Kritzius is one of those who interprets in the way to which Cortius alludes, as if 
the drift of the passage were, Quanto magis animus corpori pr&stat, tanto rectius 
ingenii opibus gloriam qucerere. But most of the commentators and translators 
rightly follow Cortius. " Quo" says Pappaur, " is for quocirca" 

3 That of intellectual power is illustrious and immortal] Virtus clara ccter- 
naque habetur. The only one of our English translators who has given the right 
sense of virtus in this passage, is Sir Henry Steuart, who was guided to it by the 
Abbe Thy von and M. Beauzee. " It appears somewhat singular," says Sir Henry, 
" that none of the numerous translators of Sallust, whether among ourselves or 
among foreign nations — the Abbe Thy von and M. Beauzee excepted — have thought 
of giving to the word virtus, in this place, what so obviously is the meaning in- 
tended by the historian ; namely, ' genius, ability, distinguished talents.' Indeed, 
the whole tenor of the passage, as well as the scope of the context, leaves no room 
to doubt the fact. The main objects of comparison, throughout the three first 
sections of this Procemium, or introductory discourse, are not vice and virtue, but 
body and mind ; a listless indolence, and a vigorous, honourable activity. On 
this account it is pretty evident, that by virtus Sallust could never mean the 
Greek aperrj, ' virtue or moral worth,' but that he had in his eye the well- 
known interpretation of Varro, who considers it ut virivis (De Ling. Lat. iv.), as 
denoting the useful energy which ennobles a man, and should chiefly distinguish 
him among his fellow-creatures. In order to be convinced of the justice of this 



CO^SPIKACY OP CATILINE. 5 

whether military efforts were more advanced by strength of 
body, or by force of intellect. For, in affairs of war, it is 
necessary to plan before beginning to act 1 , and, after planning, 
to act with promptitude and vigour 2 . Thus, each 3 being in- 
sufficient of itself, the one requires the assistance of the 
other 4 . 

II. In early times, accordingly, kings (for that was the 
first title of sovereignty in the world) applied themselves in 
different ways 5 ; some exercised the mind, others the body. 
At that period, however 6 , the life of man was passed with- 
out covetousness 7 ; every one was satisfied with his own. 

rendering, we need only turn to another passage of our author, in the second 
section of the Prooemiuin to the Jugar thine War, where the same train of thought 
is again pursued, although he gives it somewhat a different turn in the piece last 
mentioned. The object, notwithstanding, of both these Dissertations is to illus- 
trate, in a striking manner, the pre-eminence of the mind over extrinsic advan- 
tages or bodily endowments, and to show that it is by genius alone that we may 
aspire to a reputation which shall never die. Igitur prceclara fogies, magnce 
diviticE, adhuc vis corporis, et alia hvjusmodi omnia, brevi dilabuntur : at ingenii 
egregiaf acinar a, sicut anima, immoi'talia sunt" 

1 It is necessary to plan before beginning to act] Priusauam incipias, con- 
sulto—opus est. Most translators have rendered consulto " deliberation," or 
something equivalent ; but it is planning or contrivance that is signified. De- 
mosthenes, in his Oration de Pace, reproaches the Athenians with acting without 
any settled plan: c Ot fxtv yap SXXol rrdvres avOpcuTToi irpb rwv Trpayfidrcov 
iidoBa&i xprio-Bai rco ftovkeveaOaL, vfAeis ovde \iera ra Trpay/xara. 

2 To act with promptitude and vigour] Mature facto opus est. "Mature 
facto " seems to include the notions both of promptitude and vigour, of force as 
well as speed; for what would be the use of acting expeditiously, unless expe- 
dition be attended with power and effect? 

3 Each] Utrumque. The corporeal and mental faculties. 

4 The one requires the assistance of the other] Alterum alter ius auxilio eget. 
" Eget," says Cortius, " is the reading of all the MSS." Veget, which Haver- 
camp and some others have adopted, was the conjecture of Palmerius, on account 
of indigens occurring in the same sentence. But eget agrees far better with con- 
sulto et — mature facto opus est, in the preceding sentence. 

3 II. Applied themselves in different ways] Diversi. " Modo et instituto diverse, 
diversa sequentes." Cortius. 

6 At that period, however] Et jam turn. " Tunc temporis prcecise, at that 
time precisely, which is the force of the particle jam, as Donatus shows. * * * 
I have therefore written etjam separately. * * * Virg. .En. vii., 737. Late 
jam turn ditione premebat Sarrastes populos." Cortius. 

" Without covetousness] Sine cupiditate. i; As in the famous golden age. See 
Tacit. Ann. iii., 26." Cortius. See also Ovid, Met. i,, 89, sea. But " such times 
were never," as Cowper says. 



b SALLUST. 

But after Cyrus in Asia 1 , and the Lacedaemonians and 
Athenians in Greece, began to subjugate cities and na- 
tions, to deem the lust of dominion a reason for war, and 
to imagine the greatest glory to be in the most extensive 
empire, it was then at length discovered, by proof and ex- 
perience 2 , that mental power has the greatest effect in mili- 
tary operations. And, indeed 3 , if the intellectual ability 4 
of kings and magistrates 5 were exerted to the same degree in 
peace as in war, human affairs would be more orderly and 
settled, and you would not see governments shifted; from 
hand to hand 6 , and things universally changed and confused. 
For dominion is easily secured by those qualities by which 
it was at first obtained. But when sloth has introduced it-4 
self in the place of industry, and covetousness and pride in 
that of moderation and equity, the fortune of a state is 

1 But after Cyrus in Asia, cj-c.] Postea verb quam in Asia Cyrus, §c. Sallust 
writes as if he had supposed that kings were more moderate before the time of 
Cyrus. But this can hardly have been the case. " The Romans," says De Brosses, 
whose words I abridge, " though not learned in antiquity, could not have been igno- 
rant that there were great conquerors before Cyrus ; as Ninus and Sesostris. But 
as their reigns belonged rather to the fabulous ages, Sallust, in entering upon a 
serious history, wished to confine himself to what was certain, and went no farther 
back than the records of Herodotus and Thucydides." Ninus, says Justin, i., 1, 
was the first to change, through inordinate ambition, the veterem et quasi avitum 
gentibus morem, that is, to break through the settled restraints of law and 
order. Gerlach agrees in opinion with De Brosses. 

2 Proof and experience] Periculo atque negotiis. Gronovius rightly interprets 
periculo " experiundo, experimentis," by experiment or trial. Cortius takes peri- 
culo atque negotiis for periculosis negotiis, by hendyadys ; but to this figure, as 
Kritzius remarks, we ought but sparingly to have recourse. It is better, he adds, 
to take the words in their ordinary signification, understanding by negotia " res 
graviores." Bernouf judiciously explains negotiis by " ipsa, negotiorum tracta- 
tione," i.e. by the management of affairs, or by experience in affairs. Dureau 
Delamalle, the French translator, has " l'experience et la pratique." Mair has 
" trial and experience," which, I believe, faithfully expresses Sallust's meaning. 
Rose gives only " experience" for both words. 

3 And, indeed, if the intellectual ability, cj*c] Quod si — animi virtus, $c. 
11 Quod si" cannot here be rendered but if; it is rather equivalent to quapropter 
si, and might be expressed by wherefore if, if therefore, if then, so that if. 

4 Intellectual ability] Animi virtus. See the remarks on virtus, above cited. 

5 Magistrates] Imperatorum. " Understand all who govern states, whether in 
war or in peace." Bernouf. Sallust calls the consuls imperatores, c. 6. 

6 Governments shifted from hand to hand] Aliud alibferri. Evidently alluding 
to changes in government. 



CONSPIRACY OP CATILINE. 7 

altered together with its morals; and thus authority is 
always transferred from the less to the more deserving 1 . 

Even in agriculture 2 , in navigation, and in architecture, 
whatever man performs owns the dominion of intellect. Yet 
many human beings, resigned to sensuality and indolence, 
uninstructed and unimproved, have passed through life like 
travellers in a strange country 3 ; to whom, certainly, contrary 
to the intention of nature, the body was a gratification, and 
the mind a burden. Of these I hold the life and death in 
equal estimation 4 ; for silence is maintained concerning both. 
But he only, indeed, seems to me to live, and to enjoy life, 
who, intent upon some employment, seeks reputation from 
some ennobling enterprise, or honourable pursuit. 

But in the great abundance of occupations, nature points 
out different paths to different individuals. III. To act well 
for the Commonwealth is noble, and even to speak well for it 
is not without merit 5 . Both in peace and in war it is pos- 
sible to obtain celebrity ; many who have acted, and many 
who have recorded the actions of others, receive their tribute 
of praise. And to me, assuredly, though by no means equal 
glory attends the narrator and the performer of illustrious 

1 Less to the more deserving] Ad optimum quemque a minus bono. " From 
the less good to the best." 

2 Even in agriculture, cfc.~\ Quce homines circuit, navigant, cedijicant, virtuti 
omnia parent. Literally, what men plough, sail, cfc. Sallust's meaning is, that 
agriculture, navigation, and architecture, though they may seem to be effected by 
mere bodily exertion, are as much the result of mental power as the highest of 
human pursuits. 

3 Like travellers in a strange country j Sicuti peregrinantes. " Vivere nesciunt ; 
igitur in vita quasi hospites sunt :" they know not how to use life, and are there- 
fore, as it were, strangers in it. Dietsch. " Peregrinantes, qui, qua transeunt, 
nullum sui vestigium relinquunt :" they are as travellers, who do nothing to leave 
any trace of then course. Pappaur. 

4 Of these I hold the life and death in equal estimation] Eorum ego vitam 
mortemque juxta cestimo. I count them of the same value dead as alive, for they 
are honoured in the one state as much as in the other. " Those who are devoted 
to the gratification of their appetites, as Sallust says, let us regard as inferior 
animals, not as men; and some, indeed, not as living, but as dead animals." 
Seneca, Ep. lx. 

5 III. Not without merit] Baud absurdum. I have borrowed this expression 
from Eose, to whom Muretus furnished "sua laude non caret." "The word 
absurdus is often used by the Latins as an epithet for sounds disagreeable to the 
ear ; but at length it came to be applied to any action unbecoming a rational 
being." Kunhardt. 



8 SALLTT8T. 

deeds, it yet seems in the highest degree difficult to write the 
history of great transactions ; first, because deeds must he 
adequately represented 1 by words ; and next, because most 
readers consider that whatever errors you mention with cen- 
sure, are mentioned through malevolence and envy ; while, 
when you speak of the great virtue and glory of eminent 
men, every one hears with acquiescence 2 only that which he 
himself thinks easy to be performed ; all beyond his own 
conception he regards as fictitious and incredible 3 . 

I myself, however, when a young man 4 , was at first led by 
inclination, like most others, to engage in political affairs 5 : 
but in that pursuit many circumstances were unfavourable 
to me ; for, instead of modesty, temperance, and integrity 6 , 
there prevailed shamelessness,, corruption, and rapacity. And 
although my mind, inexperienced in dishonest practices, de- 
tested these vices, yet, in the midst of so great corruption, 

1 Deeds must be adequately represented, cfc] Facta dictis sunt exaquanda. 
Most translators have regarded these words as signifying that the subject must be 
equalled by the style. But it is not of mere style that Sallust is speaking. " He 
means that the matter must be so represented by the words, that honourable 
actions may not be too much praised, and that dishonourable actions may not be 
too much blamed ; and that the reader may at once understand what was done, 
and how it was done." Kunhardt. 

2 Every one hears with acquiescence, cf*c.] Quai sibi — cequo animo accipit, <fc. 
This is taken from Thucydides, ii., 35. " For praises spoken of others are only 
endured so far as each one thinks that he is himself also capable of doing any of 
the things he hears ; but that which exceeds their own capacity men at once envy 
and disbelieve." Dale's Translation: Bohn's Classical Library. 

3 Regards as fictitious and incredible] Veluti ficta, pro falsis ducit. Ducitpro 
falsis, he considers as false or incredible, veluti ficta, as if invented. 

4 When a young man] Adolescentulus. " It is generally admitted that all were 
called adolescentes by the Romans, who were between the fifteenth or seventeenth 
year of their age and the fortieth. The diminutive is used in the same sense, but 
with a view to contrast more strongly the ardour and spirit of youth with the 
moderation, prudence, and experience of age. So Caesar is called adolescentulus, in 
c. 49, at a time when he was in his thirty-third year." Dietsch. And Cicero, re- 
ferring to the time of his consulship, says, Defendi rempublicam adolescens, 
Philipp. ii., 46. 

5 To engage in political affairs] Ad rempublicam. " In the phrase of Cornelius 
Nepos, honoribus operam dedi, I sought to obtain some share in the management 
of the Republic. All public matters were comprehended under the term Respub- 
lica..'''' Cortius. 

G Integrity] Virtute. Cortius rightly explains this word as meaning justice, 
equity, and all other virtues necessary in those who manage the affairs of a state. 
Observe that it is here opposed to avaritia, not, as some critics would have it, to 
largitio. 



CONSPIRACY OP CATILINE. 9 

my tender age was ensnared and infected 1 by ambition ; and, 
though I shrunk from the vicious principles of those around 
me, yet the same eagerness for honours, the same obloquy 
and jealousy 2 , which disquieted others, disquieted myself. 

IY. When, therefore, my mind had rest from its numerous 
troubles and trials, and I had determined to pass the re- 
mainder of my days unconnected with public life, it was not 
my intention to waste my valuable leisure in indolence and 
inactivity, or, engaging in servile occupations, to spend my 
time in agriculture or hunting 3 ; but, returning to those stu- 
dies 4 from which, at their commencement, a corrupt ambition 
had allured me, I determined to write, in detached portions 5 , 
the transactions of the Roman people, as any occurrence 

1 Was ensnared and infected] Corrupta Unebatur. As obsessus tenetur, Jug., c. 24. 

2 The same eagerness for honours, the same obloquy and jealousy, cf-c] Honoris 
cvpido cadem quce cceteros,fama atque invidia vexabat. I follow the interpreta- 
tion of Cortius: " Me vexabat honoris eupido, et vexabat propterea etiam eadem, 
quae cseteros, fama atque invidia." He adds, from a gloss in the Guelferbytan MS., 
that it is a zeugma. "Fama atque invidia," says Gronovius, u is ev bia dvolv, 
for invidiosa et maligna fama. " Bernouf, with Zanchius and others, read famd 
atque invidia in the ablative case ; and the Bipont edition has eadem qua— famd, 
$c. ; but the method of Cortius is, to me, by far the most straightforward and satis- 
factory. Sallust, observes De Brosses, in his note on this passage, wrote the ac- 
count of Catiline's conspiracy shortly after his expulsion from the Senate, and 
wishes to make it appear that he suffered from calumny on the occasion ; though 
he took no trouble, in the subsequent part of his life, to put such calumny to 
silence. 

3 IV. Servile occupations — agriculture or hunting] Agrum colendo, aut ve- 
v.ando, servilibus officiis intentum. By calling agriculture and hunting servilia 
officio,, Sallust intends, as is remarked by Graswinckelius, little more than was 
expressed in the saying of Julian the emperor, Turpe est sajnenti, cum kabeat 
animum, captare laudes ex corpore. " Ita ergo," adds the commentator, " agri- 
cultura et venatio servilia officia sunt, quum in solo consistant corporis usu, 
animum, vero nee meliorem nee prudentiorem reddant. Qui labor in se certe est 
illiberalis, ei prsesertim cui facultas sit ad meliora." Symmachus (1. v. Ep. 66) 
and some others, whose remarks the reader may see in Havercamp, think that 
Sallust might have spoken of hunting and agriculture with more respect, and ac- 
cuse him of not remembering, with sufficient veneration, the kings and princes 
that have amused themselves in hunting, and such illustrious ploughmen as Curius 
and Cincinnatus. Sallust, however, is sufficiently defended from censure by the 
Abbe Thyvon, in a dissertation much longer than the subject deserves, and much 
longer than most readers are willing to peruse. 

4 Returning to those studies, fyc. ] A quo incepto studio me ambitio mala de- 
t'muerat, ebdem regressus. " The study, namely, of writing history, to which he 
signifies that he was attached in c. 3." Cortius. 

3 In detached portions] Carptim. " Plin. Ep. viii., 47: Eespondebis non posse 



10 SALLTJST. 

should seem worthy of mention; an undertaking to which I 
was, the rather inclined, as my mind was uninfluenced by 
hope, fear, or political partisanship. I shall accordingly give 
a brief account, with as much truth as I can, of the Con- 
spiracy of Catiline ; for I think it an enterprise eminently 
deserving of record, from the unusual nature both of its 
guilt and of its perils. But before I enter upon my nar- 
rative, I must give a short description of the character of 
the man. 

V. Lucius Catiline was a man of noble birth 1 , and of emi- 
nent mental and personal endowments ; but of a vicious and 
depraved disposition. His delight, from his youth, had been 
in civil commotions, bloodshed, robbery, and sedition 2 ; and 
in such scenes he had spent his early years 3 . His con- 
stitution could endure hunger, want of sleep, and cold, to a 
degree surpassing belief. His mind was daring, subtle, and 
versatile, capable of pretending or dissembling whatever he 
wished 4 . He was covetous of other men's property, and 

perinde carptim, ut contexta placere: et vi., 22: Egit carptim et Kara kc- 
(j)akaia." Dietsch. 

1 V. Of noble birth] Nobili generenatus. His three names were Lucius Sergius 
Oatilina, he being of the family of the Sergii, for whose antiquity Virgil is respon- 
sible, iEn. v., 121 : Sergestusque, domus tenet a quo Sergio, nomen. And Juvenal 
says, Sat. viii., 321 : Quid, Catilina, tuis natalibus atque Cethegi Inveniet quis- 
quam sublimius ? His great grandfather, L. Sergius Silus, had eminently distin- 
guished himself by his services in the second Punic war. See Plin. Hist- Xat. 
vii., 29. " Catiline was born A.u.c. 647, A.c. 107." Dietsch. Ammianus Mar- 
cellinus (lib. xxv.) says that he was the last of the Sergii. 

2 Sedition'] Discordia civilis. 

3 And in such scenes he had spent his early years] Ibique juventutem suam 
exercuit. " It is to be observed that the Roman writers often used an adverb, 
where we, of modern times, should express ourselves more specifically by using a 
noun." Dietsch on c. 3, ibique multa mihi advorsa fuere. Juventus properly sig- 
nified the time between thirty and forty-five years of age ; adolescentia that be- 
tween fifteen and thirty. But this distinction was not always accurately observed. 
Catiline had taken an active part in supporting Sylla, and in carrying into execu- 
tion his cruel proscriptions and mandates. " Quis erat hujus (Sylla?) imperii 
minister ? Quis nisi Catilina, jam in omne facinus manus exercens ?" Sen. de 
Ira, hi., 18. 

4 Capable of pretending or dissembling whatever he wished] Cujuslibet rei 
simulator ac dissimulator. " Dissimulation is the negative, when a man lets fall 
signs and arguments, that he is not that he is ; — simulation is the affirmative, 
when a man industriously and expressly feigns and pretends to be that he is not." 
Bacon, Essay vi. 



CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. 11 

prodigal of his own. He had abundance of eloquence 1 , though 
but little wisdom. His insatiable ambition was always pur- 
suing objects extravagant, romantic, and unattainable. 

Since the time of Sylla's dictatorship 2 , a strong desire of 
seizing the government possessed him, nor did he at all care, 
provided that he secured power 3 for himself, by what means 
he might arrive at it. His violent spirit was daily more and 
more hurried on by the diminution of his patrimony, and by 
his consciousness of guilt ; both which evils he had increased 
by those practices which I have mentioned above. The cor- 
rupt morals of the state, too, which extravagance and selfish- 
ness, pernicious and contending vices, rendered thoroughly 
depraved 4 , furnished him with additional incentives to action. 

Since the occasion has thus brought public morals under 
my notice, the subject itself seems to call upon me to look 
back, and briefly to describe the conduct of our ancestors 5 in 

1 Abundance of eloquence] Satis eloquentice. Cortius reads loquentice. " Lo- 
quentia is a certain facility of speech not necessarily attended with sound sense ; 
called by the Greeks \a\ia." Bernouf. " Julius Candidus used excellently to 
observe that eloquentia was one thing, and loquentia another ; for eloquence is 
given to few, but what Candidus called loquentia, or fluency of speech, is the talent 
of many, and especially of the most impudent." Plin. Ep. v., 20. But eloquential 
is the reading of most of the MSS., and loquentice, if Aulus Gellius (i., 15) was 
rightly informed, was a correction of Valerius Probus, the grammarian, who said 
that Sallust must have written so, as eloquentice could not agree with sapientice 
parum. This opinion of Probus, however, may be questioned. May not Sallust 
have written eloquential, with the intention of signifying that Catiline had abun- 
dance of eloquence to work on the minds of others, though he wanted prudence to 
regulate his own conduct ? Have there not been other men of whom the same 
may be said, as Mirabeau, for example ? The speeches that Sallust puts into 
Catiline's mouth (c. 20, 58) are surely to be characterised rather as eloquentia than 
loquentia. On the whole, and especially from the concurrence of MSS., I prefer 
to read eloquentice, with the more recent editors, Gerlach, Kritz, and Dietsch. 

2 Since the time of Sylla's dictatorship] Post dominationem Lucii Syllw. " The 
meaning is not the same as if it were Jinitd dominatione, but is the same as ab 
eo tempore quo dominari cceperat. In French, therefore, post should be rendered 
by depuis, not, as it is commonly translated, apres." Bernouf. As dictator was 
the title that Sylla assumed, I have translated dominatio, " dictatorship." Rose, 
Gordon, and others, render it " usurpation." 

* 3 Power] Regnum. Chief authority, rule, dominion. 

4 Rendered thoroughly depraved] Vexdbant. ;t Corrumpere et pessundare 
studebant." Bernouf. Quos vexabant, be it observed, refers to mores, as Gerlach 
and Kritz interpret, not to cives understood in civitatis, which is the evidently 
erroneous method of Cortius. 

5 Conduct of our ancestors] Instituta majorum. The principles adopted by our 



12 SALLUST. 

peace and war; how they managed the state, and how 
powerful they left it ; and how, by gradual alteration, it be- 
came, from being the most virtuous, the most vicious and de- 
praved. j, 

VI. lOf the city of Rome, as I understand 1 , the founders 
and earliest inhabitants were the Trojans, who, under the 
conduct of iEneas, were wandering about as exiles from their 
country, without any settled abode ; and with these were 
joined the Aborigines 2 , a savage race of men, without laws or 
government, free, and owning no control. How easily these 
two tribes, though of different origin, dissimilar language, and 
opposite habits of life, formed a union when they met within 
the same walls, is almost incredible 3 . But when their state, 
from an accession of population and territory, and an im- 
proved condition of morals, showed itself tolerably nourishing 
and powerful, envy, as is generally the case in human affairs, 
was the consequence of its prosperity. The neighbouring 
kings and people, accordingly, began to assail them in war, 
while a few only of their friends came to their support ; for 
the rest, struck with alarm, shrunk from sharing their dan- 
gers. But the Romans, active at home and in the field, pre- 
pared with alacrity for their defence 4 . They encouraged one 
another, and hurried to meet the enemy. They protected, 
with their arms, their liberty, their country, and their homes. 
And when they had at length repelled danger by valour, they 
lent assistance to their allies and supporters, and procured 
friendships rather by bestowing 5 favours than by receiving 
them. 

ancestors, with regard both to their own conduct, and to the management of the 
state. That this is the meaning, is evident from the following account. 

1 VI. As I understand] Sicui ego accepi. " By these words he plainly shows 
that nothing certain was known about the origin of Rome. The reader may con- 
sult Livy, lib. i. ; Justin, lib. xliii. ; and Dionjs. Halicar., lib. i. ; all of whom at- 
tribute its rise to the Trojans." Bernovf. 

2 Aborigines] Aborigines. The original inhabitants of Italy; the same as in- 
digence, or the Greek ^Avro^doves. 

3 Almost incredible] Incredibile memoratu. " Non credi potest, si memoratur; 
superat omnem fidem." Pappaur. Yet that which actually happened, cannot 
be absolutely incredible; and I have, therefore, inserted almost. 

4 Prepared with alacrity for their defence] Festinare, parare. "Made haste, 
prepared." " Intenti ut festinanter pararent ea, quae defensioni aut bello usui 
essent." Pappaur. 

5 Procured friendships rather by bestowing, cj-c] Magisque dandis, quam ac- 



CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. 13 

They had a government regulated by laws. The denomi- 
nation of their government was monarchy. Chosen men, 
whose bodies might be enfeebled by years, but whose minds 
were vigorous in understanding, formed the council of the 
state ; and these, whether from their age, or from the simi- 
larity of their duty, were called Fathers 1 . But afterwards, 
when the monarchical power, which had been originally esta- 
blished for the protection of liberty, and for the promotion of 
the public interest, had degenerated into tyranny and op- 
pression, they changed their plan, and appointed two magis- 
trates 2 , with power only annual; for they conceived that, by 
this method, the human mind would be least likely to grow 
overbearing through want of control. 

VII. At this period every citizen began to seek distinction, 
and to display his talents with greater freedom; for, with 
princes, the meritorious are greater objects of suspicion than 
the undeserving, and to them the worth of others is a source 
of alarm. But when liberty was secured, it is almost incre- 
dible 3 how much the state strengthened itself in a short space 
of time, so strong a passion for distinction had pervaded it. 
Now, for the first time, the youth, as soon as they were able 
to bear the toils of war 4 , acquired military skill by actual ser- 
vice in the camp, and took pleasure rather in splendid arms 
and military steeds than in the society of mistresses and 
convivial indulgence. To such men no toil was unusual, no 
place was difficult or inaccessible, no armed enemy was for- 

cipiundis beneficiis amicitias parabant. Thucyd. ii., 40 : 'Ou 7rd(rx oVT€S * v > 
aXAa dpa>vT€s, KTWfieOa rovs (j)(Xovs» 

1 Fathers] Patres. " (Romulus) appointed that the direction of the state 
should be in the hands of the old men, who, from their authority, were called 
Fathers; from their age, Senatus." Florus, i., 1. Senatus from senex. " Patres 
ab h on ore — appellati." Livy. 

2 Two magistrates] Binos imperatores. The two consuls. They were more 
properly called imperatores at first, when the law, which settled their power, 
said u Regio imperio duo sunto " (Cic. de Legg. iii., 4), than afterwards, when 
the people and tribunes had made encroachments on their authority. 

3 VII. Almost incredible] Incredibile memoratu. See above, c. 6. 

4 Able to bear the toils of war] Laboris ac belli patiens. As by laboris the 
labour of war is evidently intended, I have thought it better to render the words 
in this manner. The reading is Cortius's. Havercamp and others have " simul 
ac belli patiens erat, in castris per laborem usu militiam discebat;" butter 
laborem usu is assuredlv not the hand of Sallust. 



14 SALLTTST. 

midable ; their valour had oyer come everything. But among 
themselves the grand rivalry was for glory ; each sought to 
he first to wound an enemy, to scale a wall, and to be noticed 
while performing such an exploit. Distinction such as this 
they regarded as wealth, honour, and true nobility 1 . They 
were covetous of praise, but liberal of money ; they desired 
competent riches, but boundless glory. I could mention, but 
that the account would draw me too far from my subject, 
places in which the Eoman people, with a small body of men, 
routed vast armies of the enemy ; and cities which, though 
fortified by nature, they carried by assault. 

VIII. -But, assuredly, Fortune rules in all things. . She 
makes everything famous or obscure rather from caprice than 
in conformity with truth. The exploits of the Athenians, 
as far as I can judge, were very great and glorious 2 , yet some- 
thing inferior to what fame has represented them. But 
because writers of great talent flourished there, the actions 
of the Athenians are celebrated over the world as the most 
splendid of achievements. Thus, the merit of those who have 
acted is estimated at the highest point to which illustrious 
intellects could exalt it in their writings. 

But among the Bomans there was never any such abun- 
dance of writers 3 ; for, with them, the most able men were 
the most actively employed. No one exercised the mind in- 
dependently of the body ; every man of ability chose to act 
rather than narrate 4 , and was more desirous that his own 
merits should be celebrated by others, than that he himself 
should record theirs. 

IX. Good morals, accordingly, were cultivated in the city 

1 Honour and true nobility] Bonam famam magnamque nobilitatem. 

2 VIII. Very great and glorious] Satis amplce magniftcaique. In speaking of 
this amplification of the Athenian exploits, he alludes, as Colerus observes, to the 
histories of Thucydides, Xenophon, and perhaps Herodotus ; not, as Wasse seems 
to imagine, to the representations of the poets. 

3 There was never any such abundance of writers] Nunquam ea copiafuit. I 
follow Kuhnhardt, who thinks copia equivalent to multitudo. Others render it 
advantage, or something similar; which seems less applicable to the passage. 
Compare c. 28 : Latr ones— quorum —magna copia erat. 

4 Chose to act rather than narrate] " For," as Cicero says, " neither among 
those who are engaged in establishing a state, nor among those carrying on wars, 
nor among those who are curbed and restrained under the rule of kings, is the 
desire of distinction in eloquence wont to arise." Graswinchelius. 



COtfSPlKACY OF CATILINE. 15 

and in the camp. There was the greatest possible concord, 
and the least possible avarice. Justice and probity prevailed 
among the citizens, not more from the influence of the laws 
than from natural inclination. They displayed animosity, 
enmity, and resentment only against the enemy. Citizens 
contended with citizens in nothing but honour. They were 
magnificent in their religious services, frugal in their fami- 
lies, and steady in their friendships. 

By these two virtues, intrepidity in war, and equity in 
peace, they maintained themselves and their state. Of their 
exercise of which virtues, I consider these as the greatest 
proofs; that, in war, punishment was oftener inflicted on 
those who attacked an enemy contrary to orders, and who, 
when commanded to retreat, retired too slowly from the con- 
test, than on those who had dared to desert their standards, 
or, when pressed by the enemy 1 , to abandon their posts ; and 
that, in peace, they governed more by conferring benefits 
than by exciting terror, and, when they received an injury, 
chose rather to pardon than to revenge it. 

X. But when, by perseverance and integrity, the republic 
had increased its power ; when mighty princes had been van- 
quished in war 2 ; when barbarous tribes and populous states 
had been reduced to subjection ; when Carthage, the rival of 
Rome's dominion, had been utterly destroyed, and sea and 
land lay everywhere open to her sway, Fortune then began 
to exercise her tyranny, and to introduce universal innova- 
tion. To those who had easily endured toils, dangers, and 
doubtful and difficult circumstances, ease and wealth, the 
objects of desire to others, became a burden and a trouble. 
At first the love of money, and then that of power, began to 
prevail, and these became, as it were, the sources of every 
evil. Tor avarice subverted honesty, integrity, and other 
honourable principles, and, in their stead, inculcated pride, 
inhumanity, contempt of religion, and general venality. Am- 
bition prompted many to become deceitful ; to keep one thing 

1 IX. Pressed by the enemy] Pulsi. In the words pulsi loco cedere ausi erant, 
loco is to be joined, as Dietsch observes, with cedere, not, as Kritzius puts it, 
with pulsi. " To retreat," adds Dietsch, u is disgraceful only to those qui ab 
hostibus se pelli patiantur, who suffer themselves to be repulsed by the enemy" 

2 X. When mighty princes had been vanquished in war] Perses, Antiochus, 
Mithridates, Tigranes, and others. 



16 SALLUST. 

concealed in the breast, and another ready on the tongue 1 ; to 
estimate friendships and enmities, not by their worth, bnt ac- 
cording to interest • and to carry rather a specious counte- 
nance than an honest heart. These vices at first advanced 
but slowly, and were sometimes restrained by correction ; 
but afterwards, when their infection had spread like a pesti- 
lence, the state was entirely changed, and the government, 
from being the most equitable and praiseworthy, became 
rapacious and insupportable. 

XL At first, however, it was ambition, rather than avarice 2 , 
that influenced the minds of men ; a vice which approaches 
nearer to virtue than the other. For of glory, honour, and 
power, the worthy is as desirous as the worthless ; but the 
one pursues them by just methods ; the other, being des- 
titute of honourable qualities, works with fraud and deceit. 
But avarice has merely money for its object, which no wise 
man has ever immoderately desired. It is a vice which, as if 
imbued with deadly poison, enervates whatever is manly in 
body or mind 3 . It is always unbounded and insatiable, and 
is abated neither by abundance nor by want. 

1 To keep one thing concealed in the breast, and another ready on the tongue] 
Aliud clausum inpectore, aliud in lingua promptum, habere. 

'E^^poff yap fxoi Ketvos o/zgos Aldao irvk-yviv 
Os x *T€pov pev Kevdei iv\ (ppearw, ciWo de /3afei. 

II. ix., 313. 
Who dares think one thing, and another tell, 
My heart detests him as the gates of hell. Pope. 

2 XI. At first, however, it was ambition, rather than avarice, cfc] Sed primb 
magis ambitio quam avaritia animos hominum exercebat. Sallust has been ac- 
cused of having made, in this passage, an assertion at variance with what he had 
said before (c. 10), Igitur primb pecuniae, delude imperii cupido, crevit, and it 
will be hard to prove that the accusation is not just. Sir H. Steuart, indeed, 
endeavours to reconcile the passages by giving them the following " meaning," 
which, he says, "seems perfectly evident :" "Although avarice was the first to 
make its appearance at Rome, yet, after both had had existence, it was ambition 
that, of the two vices, laid the stronger hold on the minds of men, and more 
speedily grew to an inordinate height." To me, however, it " seems perfectly 
evident " that the Latin can be made to yield no such " meaning." " How these 
passages agree," says Rupertus, "I do not understand; unless we suppose that 
Sallust, by the word primb, does not always signify order." 

3 Enervates whatever is manly in body or mind] Corpus virilemque animum 
efceminal. That avarice weakens the mind, is generally admitted. But how does 
it weaken the body? The most satisfactory answer to this question is, in the 



COFSPIItACV OF CATILINE. 17 

But after Lucius Sylla, having recovered the government 1 
by force of arms, proceeded, after a fair commencement, to a 
pernicious termination, all became robbers and plunderers 3 ; 
some set their affections on houses, others on lands ; his vic- 
torious troops knew neither restraint nor moderation, but in- 
flicted on the citizens disgraceful and inhuman outrages. 
Their rapacity was increased by the circumstance that Sylla, 
in order to secure the attachment of the forces which he had 
commanded in Asia 3 , had treated them, contrary to the prac- 
tice of our ancestors, with extraordinary indulgence, and ex- 
emption from discipline ; and pleasant and luxurious quarters 
had easily, during seasons of idleness, enervated the minds of 
the soldiery. Then the armies of the Homan people first 
became habituated to licentiousness and intemperance, and 
began to admire statues, pictures, and sculptured vases ; to 
seize such objects alike in public edifices and private dwell- 
ings 4 ; to spoil temples ; and to cast off respect for everything, 
sacred and profane. Such troops, accordingly, when once 
they obtained the mastery, left nothing to the vanquished. 
Success unsettles the principles even of the wise, and scarcely 
would those of debauched habits use victory with moderation. 

XII. When wealth was once considered an honour, and 
glory, authority, and power attended on it, virtue lost her in- 
fluence, poverty was thought a disgrace, and a life of inno- 

opinion of Aulus Gellius (iii., 1), that those who are intent on getting riches de- 
vote .themselves to sedentary pursuits, as those of usurers and money-changers, 
neglecting all such exercises and employments as strengthen the body. There is, 
however, another explanation by Valerius Probus, given in the same chapter of 
Aulus Gellius, which perhaps is the true one ; namely, that Sallust, by body and 
mind, intended merely to signify the whole man. 

1 Having recovered the government] Receptee republicd. Having wrested it 
from the hands of Marius and his party. 

2 All became robbers and plunderers] Rapere omnes, trahere. He means that 
there was a general indulgence in plunder among Sylla's party, and among all who, 
in whatever character, could profit by supporting it. Thus he says immediately 
afterwards, " neque modum neque modestiam victores habere." 

3 Which he had commanded in Asia] Quern in Asia ductaverat I have here 
deserted Cortius, who gives inAsiam, " into Asia," but this, as Bernouf justly 
observes, is incompatible with the frequentative verb ductaverat. 

4 In public edifices and private dwellings] Privatim ac public 'e. I have trans- 
lated this according to the notion of Bernouf. Others, as Dietsch and Pappaur, 
consider privatim as signifying each on his own account, and publice, in the name 
of the Republic. 

C 



18 SALLUST. 

cence was regarded as a life of ill-nature 1 . From the influence 
of riches, accordingly, luxury, avarice, and pride prevailed 
among the youth ; they grew at once rapacious and prodigal ; 
they undervalued what was their own, and coveted what was 
another's ; they set at nought modesty and continence ; they 
lost all distinction between sacred and profane, and threw 
off all consideration and self-restraint. 

It furnishes much matter for reflection 3 , after viewing our 
modern mansions and villas extended to the size of cities, to 
contemplate the temples which our ancestors, a most devout 
race of men, erected to the Gods. But our forefathers 
adorned the fanes of the deities with devotion, and their 
homes with their own glory, and took nothing from those 
whom they conquered but the power of doing harm ; their 
descendants, on the contrary, the basest of mankind 3 , have 
even wrested from their allies, with the most flagrant injus- 
tice, whatever their brave and victorious ancestors had left to 
their vanquished enemies ; as if the only use of power were 
to inflict injury. 

XIII. For why should I mention those displays of extra- 
vagance, which can be believed by none but those who have 
seen them ; as that mountains have beon levelled, and seas 
covered with edifices 4 , by many private citizens ; men whom I 
consider to have made a sport of their wealth 5 , since they were 

1 XII. A life of innocence was regarded as a life of ill-nature] Innocentia pro 
malivolentid duci cmpit. " Whoever continued honest and upright, was considered 
by the unprincipled around him as their enemy ; for a good man among the bad 
can never be regarded as of their party." Bernonf. 

2 It furnishes much matter for reflection] Operce pretium est. 

3 Basest of mankind] Ignavissumi mortales. It is opposed to fortissumi viri, 
which follows, " Qui nee fortiter nee bene quidquam fecere." Cortius. 

4 XIII. Seas covered with edifices] Maria constrncta esse. 

Contracta pisces sequora sentiunt, 

Jactis in altwni molibus, #c. Hor. Od., iii., 1. 

The haughty lord, who lays 

His deep foundations in the seas, 

And scorns earth's narrow bound ; 
The fish affrighted feel their waves 
Contracted by his numerous slaves, 

Even in the vast profound. Francis. 

5 To have made a sport of their wealth] Quibus mihi videntur ludibrio fuissa 



CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. 19 

impatient to squander disreputably what they might have 
enjoyed with honour. 

But the love of irregular gratification, open debauchery, 
and all kinds of luxury 1 , had spread abroad with no less force. 
Men forgot their sex ; women threw off all the restraints of 
modesty. To gratify appetite, they sought for every kind of 
production by land and by sea ; they slept before there was 
any inclination for sleep ; they no longer waited to feel hunger, 
thirst, cold 2 , or fatigue, but anticipated them all by luxurious 
indulgence. Such propensities drove the youth, when their 
patrimonies were exhausted, to criminal practices ; for their 
minds, impregnated with evil habits, could not easily abstain 
from gratifying their passions, and were thus the more inor- 
dinately devoted in every way to rapacity and extravagance. 

XIV. In so populous and so corrupt a city, Catiline, as it 
was very easy to do, kept about him, like a body-guard, crowds 
of the unprincipled and desperate. For all those shameless, 
libertine, and profligate characters, who had dissipated their 
patrimonies by gaming 3 , luxury, and sensuality ; all who 
had contracted heavy debts, to purchase immunity for their 
crimes or offences ; all assassins 4 or sacrilegious persons from 
every quarter, convicted or cbeading conviction for their evil 
deeds; all, besides, whom their tongue or their hand main- 
tamed by perjury or civil bloodshed ; all, in fine, whom 
wickedness, poverty, or a guilty conscience disquieted, were 

divitioz. " They spent their riches on objects which, in the judgment of men of 
sense, are ridiculous and contemptible." Cortius. 

1 Luxury] Cidtus. " Deliciarum in victu, luxuries of the table; for we must 
be careful not to suppose that apparel is meant." Cortius. 

2 Cold] Frigus. It is mentioned by Cortius that this word is wanting in one 
MS. ; and the English reader may possibly wish that it were away altogether. 
Cortius refers it to cool places built of stone, sometimes underground, to which 
the luxurious retired in the hot weather ; and he cites Pliny, Ep. v., 6, who 
speaks of a cryptopwticus, a gallery from which the sun was excluded, almost as 
if it were underground, and which even in summer was cold nearly to freezing. 
He also refers to Ambros., Epist. xii., and Casaubon. ad Spartian. Adrian., c. x., 
p. 87. 

3 XIV. Gaming] Manu. Gerlach, Dietsch, Kritzius, and all the recent editors, 
agree to interpret manu by gaming. 

4 Assassins] Parricidal. " Not only he who had killed his father was called a 
parricide, but he who had killed any man ; as is evident from a law of Numa 
Pompilius : If any one unlawfully and knowingly bring a free man to death, let 
him be aparricide." Festus sub voce Pan^ic'. 

c2 



20 SALLTJST. 

the associates and intimate friends of Catiline. And if any 
one, as yet of unblemished character, fell into his society, he 
was presently rendered, by daily intercourse and temptation, 
similar and equal to the rest. But it was the young whose 
acquaintance he chiefly courted ; as their minds, ductile and 
unsettled from their age, were easily ensnared by his strata- 
gems. Foy as the passions of each, according to his years, 
appeared excited, he furnished mistresses to some, bought 
horses and dogs for others, and spared, in a word, neither his 
purse nor his character, if he could but make them his 
devoted and trustworthy supporters. There were some, I 
know, who thought that the youth, who frequented the house 
of Catiline, were guilty of crimes against nature ; but this 
report arose rather from other causes than from any evidence 
of the fact 1 . 

XV. Catiline, in his youth, had been guilty of many 
criminal connexions, with a virgin of noble birth 2 , with a 
priestess of Testa 3 , and of many other offences of this nature, 
in defiance alike of law and religion. At last, when he was 
smitten with a passion for Aurelia Orestilla 4 , in whom no good 
man, at any time of her life, commended anything but her 
beauty, it is confidently believed that because she hesitated 

1 Than from any evidence of the fact] Quean quod cuiquam id compertum foret. 

2 XV. With a virgin of noble birth] Cum virgine nobili. Who this was is not 
known. The name may have been suppressed from respect to her family. If 
what is fonnd in a fragment of Cicero be true, Catiline had an illicit connexion 
with some female, and afterwards married the daughter who was the fruit of the 
connexion : Ex eodem stupro et uxorem et filiam invenisti ; Orat. in Tog. Cand. 
(Oration xvi., Ernesti's edit.) On which words Asconius Pedianus makes this 
comment: "Dicitur Catilinam adulterium commisisse cum ea quae ei postea 
socrns fuit, et ex eo stupro duxisse uxorem, cum filia ejus esset. Haec Lucceius 
quoque Catilinae objecit in orationibus, quas in eum scripsit. Nomina harum 
mulierum nondum inveni." Plutarch, too (Life of Cicero, c. 10), says that Ca- 
tiline was accused of having corrupted his own daughter. 

3 With a priestess of Vesta] Cum sacerdote Vestce. This priestess of Vesta was 
Fabia Terentia, sister to Terentia, Cicero's wife, whom Sallust, after she was di- 
vorced by Cicero, married. Clodius accused her, but she was acquitted, either 
because she was thought innocent, or because the interest of Catnlus and others, 
who exerted themselves in her favour, procured her acquittal. See Orosius, vi., 
3 ; the Oration of Cicero, quoted in the preceding note ; and Asconius's commen- 
tary on it. 

4 Aurelia Orestilla] See c. 35. She was the sister or daughter, as De Brosses 
thinks, of Cneius Aurelius Orestis, who had been praetor, A.u.o. 677. 



CONSPIEACY OP CATILINE. 21 

to marry him, from the dread of having a grown-up step-son 1 , 
he cleared the honse for their nuptials by putting his son to 
death. And this crime appears to me to have been the chief 
cause of hurrying forward the conspiracy. For his guilty 
mind, at peace with neither Gods nor men, found no comfort 
either waking or sleeping ; so effectually did conscience deso- 
late his tortured spirit 2 . His complexion, in consequence, 
was pale, his eyes haggard, his walk sometimes quick and 
sometimes slow, and distraction was plainly apparent in every 
feature and look. 

XYI. The young men, whom, as I said before, he had enticed 
to join him, he initiated, by various methods, in evil practices. 
From among them he furnished false witnesses 3 , and forgers 
of signatures ; and he taught them all to regard, with equal 
unconcern, honour, property, and danger. At length, when 
he had stripped them of all character and shame, he led them 
to other and greater enormities. If a motive for crime did not 
readily occur, he incited them, nevertheless, to circumvent 
and murder inoffensive persons 4 , just as if they had injured 
him ; for, lest their hand or heart should grow torpid for want 
of employment, he chose to be gratuitously wicked and cruel. 

Depending on such accomplices and adherents, and knowing 
that the load of debt was everywhere great, and that the vete- 
rans of Sylla 5 , having spent their money too liberally, and re- 
membering their spoils and former victory, were longing for 
a civil war, Catiline formed the design of overthrowing the 

1 A grown-up step-son] Privignum adultd cetate. A son of Catiline's by a 
former marriage. 

2 Desolate his tortured spirit] Mentem excitam vastabat. " Conscience deso- 
lates the mind, when it deprives it of its proper power and tranquillity, and intro- 
duces into it perpetual disquietude." Cortius. Many editions have vexdbat. 

3 XVI. He furnished false witnesses, tyc") Testis signatoresquefalsos commo- 
dare. " If any one wanted any such character, Catiline was ready to supply him 
from among his troop." Bernouf. 

4 Inoffensive persons, $c.~] Insontes, sicuti sorites. Most translators have 
rendered these words " innocent" and " guilty," terms which suggest nothing satis - 
factory to the English reader. The insontes are those who had given Catiline no 
cause of offence ; the sontes those who had in some way incurred his displeasure , 
or become objects of his rapacity. 

5 Veterans of Sylla, cfc] Elsewhere called the colonists of Sylla ; men to whom 
Sylla had given large tracts of land as rewards for their services, but who, having 
lived extravagantly, had fallen into such debt and distress, that, as Cicero said, 
nothing could relieve them but the resurrection of Sylla from the dead. Cic. ii., 
Orat, in Cat. 



22 SALLUST. 

government. There was no army in Italy; Pompey was 
fighting in a distant part of the world 1 ; he himself had great 
hopes of obtaining the consulship ; the senate was wholly off 
its guard 3 ; everything was quiet and tranquil ; and all these 
circumstances were exceedingly favourable for Catiline. 

XVII. Accordingly, about the beginning of June, in the 
consulship of Lucius Caesar 3 and Caius Figulus, he at first 
addressed each of his accomplices separately, encouraged 
some, and sounded others, and informed them of his own 
resources, of the unprepared condition of the state, and of 
the great prizes to be expected from the conspiracy. When 
he had ascertained, to his satisfaction, all that he required, he 
summoned all whose necessities were the most urgent, and 
whose spirits were the most daring, to a general conference. 

At that meeting there were present, of senatorial rank, 
Publius Lentulus Sura 4 , Publius Autronius 5 , Lucius Cassius 
Longinus 6 , Caius Cethegus 7 , Publius and Servius Sylla 8 , the 

1 Pompey was fighting in a distant part of the world] In extremis terris. 
Pompey was then conducting the war against Mithridates and Tigranes, in Pon- 
tus and Armenia. 

2 The senate was wholly off its guard ] Senatus nihil sane intentus. The senate 
was regardless, and unsuspicious of any danger. 

3 XVII. Lucius Cassar] He was a relation of Julius Cassar; and his sister was 
the wife of M. Antonius, the orator, and mother of Mark Antony, the triumvir. 

4 Publius Lentulus Sura] He was of the same family with Sylla, that of the 
Cornelii. He had filled the office of consul, but his conduct had been afterwards 
so profligate, that the censors expelled him from the senate. To enable him to 
resume his seat, he had obtained, as a qualification, the office of praetor, which he 
held at the time of the conspiracy. He was called Sura, because, when he had 
squandered the public money in his qusestorship, and was called to account by 
Sylla for his dishonesty, he declined to make any defence, but said, " I present you 
the calf of my leg (swa);" alluding to a custom among boys playing at ball, of 
inflicting a certain number of strokes on the leg of an unsuccessful player. Plu- 
tarch, Life of Cicero, c. 17. 

5 Publius Autronius] He had been a companion of Cicero in his boyhood, and 
his colleague, in the qurcstorship. He was banished in the year after the conspi- 
racy, together with Cassius, Lreca, Vargunteius, Servius Sylla, and Caius Corne- 
lius, under the Plautian law. Be Brosses. 

6 Lucius Cassius Longinus] He had been a competitor with Cicero for the con- 
sulship. Ascon. Ped. in Cic. Orat. in Tog. Cand. His corpulence was such that 
Cassius's fat (Cassii adeps) became proverbial. Cic. Orat. in Catil, hi., 7. 

7 Caius Cethegus] He also was one of the Cornelian family. In the civil wars, 
says De Brosses, he had first taken the side of Marius, and afterwards that of 
Sylla. Both Cicero (Orat. in Catil., iii., 7) and Sallust describe him as fiery and 
rash. 

8 Publius and Servius Sylla] These were nephews of Sylla the dictator. Pub- 



CONSPIRACY OE CATILINE, 23 

sons of Servius Sylla, Lucius Varguuteius 1 , Quintus Aimius 2 , 
Marcus Porcius Laeca 3 , Lucius Bestia 4 , Quintus Curius 5 ; and, 
of the equestrian order, Marcus Fulvius Isobilior 6 , Lucius 
Statilius 7 , Publius Grabinius Capito 8 , Caius Cornelius 9 ; with 
many froni the colonies and municipal towns 10 , persons of con- 
sequence in their own localities. There were many others, 
too, among the nobility, concerned in the plot, but less 
openly ; men whom the hope of power, rather than poverty 
or any otli*r exigence, prompted to join in the affair. But 
most of the young men, and especially the sons of the no- 
bility, favoured the schemes of Catiline ; they who had abun- 
dant means of living at ease, either splendidly or voluptuously, 
preferred uncertainties to certainties, war to peace. There 
were some, also, at that time, who believed that Marcus 

lius, though present on this occasion, seems not to have joined in the plot, since, 
when he was afterwards accused of having been a conspirator, he was defended by 
Cicero and acquitted. See Cic. Orat. pro P. Sylla. He was afterwards with 
Caesar in the battle of Pharsalia. Caes. de B. C, iii., 89. 

1 Lucius Yargunteius] " Of him or his family little is known. He had been, 
before this period, accused of bribery, and defended by Hortensius. Cic. pro P. 
Sylla, c. 2." Bernouf. 

2 Quintus Annius] He is thought by De Brosses to have been the same Annius 
that cut off the head of M. Antonius the orator, and carried it to Marius. Plu- 
tarch, Vit. Marii, c. 44. 

3 Marcus Porcius Laeca] He was one of the same gens with the Catones, but of 
a different family. 

4 Lucius Bestia] Of the Calpurnian gens. He escaped death on the discovery 
of the conspiracy, and was afterwards aedile, and candidate for the praetorship, but 
was driven into exile for bribery. Being recalled by Caesar, he became candidate 
for the consulship, but was unsuccessful. De Brosses. 

5 Quintus Curius] He was a descendant of M. Curius Dentatus, the opponent of 
Pyrrhus. He was so notorious as a gamester and a profligate, that he was removed 
from the senate, a.u.c. 683. See c. 23. As he had been the first to give infor- 
mation of the conspiracy to Cicero, public honours were decreed him, but he was 
deprived of them by the influence of Caesar, whom he had named as one of the con- 
spirators. Sueton. Caes. 17 ; Appian. De Bell. Civ., lib. ii. 

6 M. Fulvius Xobilior] " He was not put to death, but exiled, a.u.c. 699. Cic. 
ad Att. iv., 16." Bernouf. 

7 Lucius Statilius ] Of him nothing more is known than is told by Sallust. 

8 Publius Gabinius Capito] Cicero, instead of Capito, calls him Cimber. Orat. 
in Cat., hi., 3. The family was originally from Gabii. 

9 Caius Cornelius] There were two branches of the gens Cornelia, one patri- 
cian, the other plebeian, from which sprung this conspirator. 

10 Municipal towns] Municipiis. " The municipia were towns of which the 
inhabitants were admitted to the rights of Roman citizens, but which were allowed 



/ 



24 SALLUST. 

Licinius Crassus 1 was not unacquainted with the conspiracy ; 
because Cneius Pompey, whom he hated, was at the head of 
a large army, and he was willing that the power of any one 
whomsoever should raise itself against Pompey's influ- 
ence; trusting, at the same time, that if the plot should 
succeed, he would easily place himself at the head of the 
conspirators. 

XVIII. But previously 2 to this period, a small number of 
persons, among whom was Catiline, had formed a design 
against the state ; of which affair I shall here give as accu- 
rate account as I am able. 

Under the consulship of Lucius Tullus and Marcus Le- 
pidus, Publius Autronius and Publius Sylla 3 , having been 
tried for bribery under the laws against it 4 , had paid the 
penalty of the offence. Shortly after Catiline, being brought 
to trial for extortion 5 , had been prevented from standing for 
the consulship, because he had been unable to declare him- 
self a candidate within the legitimate number of days 6 . There 

to govern themselves by their own laws, and to choose their own magistrates. 
See Aul. Gell., xvi., 13 ; Beaufort, Rep. Rom., vol. rf Bernouf, 

1 Marcus Licinius Crassus] The same who, with Pompey and Caesar, formed 
the first triumvirate, and who was afterwards killed in his expedition against the 
Parthians. He had, before the time of the conspiracy, held the offices of praetor 
and consul. 

2 XVIII. But previously, <fc] Sallust here makes a digression, to give an 
account of a conspiracy that was formed three years before that of Catiline. 

3 Publius Autronius and Publius Sylla] The same who are mentioned in the 
preceding chapter. They were consuls elect, and some editions have the words 
designati consides, immediately following their names. 

4 Having been tried for bribery under the laws against it] Legibus ambitus in- 
terrogati. Bribery at their election, is the meaning of the word ambitus, for 
ambire, as Cortius observes, is circumeundo favor em et suffragia qumrere. De 
Brosses translates the passage thus: "Autrone et Sylla, convaincus d'avoir 
obtenu le consulat par corruption des suffrages, avoient ete punis selon la rigueur 
de la loi." There were several very severe Roman laws against bribery. Autronius 
and Sylla were both excluded from the consulship. 

5 For extortion] Pecuniarum repetundarum. Catiline had been praetor in 
Africa, and, at the expiration of his office, was accused of extortion by Publius 
Clodius, on the part of the Africans. He escaped by bribing the prosecutor and 
judges. 

G To declare himself a candidate within the legitimate number of days] Prohi- 
bitus erat consulatum petere, quod intra legitimos dies prqfiteri (se candidatum, 
says Cortius, citing Suet. Aug. 4) nequiverit. A person could not be a candidate 
for the consulship, unless he could declare himself free from accusation within a 
certain number of days before the time of holding the comitia ceniuriata. That 



CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. 25 

was at tliat time, too, a young patrician of the most daring 
spirit, needy and discontented, named Cneius Piso 1 , whom 
poverty and vicious principles instigated to disturb the 
government. Catiline and Autronius 2 , having concerted mea- 
sures with this Piso, prepared to assassinate the consuls, 
Lucius Cotta and Lucius Torquatus, in the Capitol, on the 
first of January 3 , when they, having seized on the fasces, were 
to send Piso with an army to take possession of the two 
Spains 4 . But their design being discovered, they postponed 
the assassination to the fifth of February ; when they medi- 
tated the destruction, not of the consuls only, but of most 
of the senate. And had not Catiline, who was in front of 
the senate-house, been too hasty to give the signal to his 
associates, there would that day have been perpetrated the 
most atrocious outrage since the city of Rome was founded. 
But as the armed conspirators had not yet assembled in suf- 
ficient numbers, the want of force frustrated the design. 
VXIX. Some time afterwards, Piso was sent as quaestor, 

number of days was trinundinum sjyafiwn, that is, the time occupied by three 
market-days, tres nundince, with seven days intervening between the first and 
second, and between the second and third ; or seventeen days. The nundinal 
(from novem and dies) were held, as it is commonly expressed, every ninth day ; 
whence Cortius and others considered tnnundinum spatium to be twenty-seven, 
or even thirty days ; but this way of reckoning was not that of the Romans, who 
made the last day of the first ennead to be also the first day of the second. Con- 
cerning the nundiiKE see Macrob., Sat. i., 16. " Muller and Longius most erro- 
neously supposed the trinundinum to be about thirty days ; for that it embraced 
only seventeen days has been fully shown by Ernesti, Clav. Cic, sub voce ; by 
Scheller in Lex. Ampl., p. 11,669 ; by Nitschius Antiquitt. Romm. i., p. 623 ; and 
by Drachenborch (cited by Gerlach) ad Liv. hi., 35." Kritzius. 

1 Cneius Piso] Of the Calpurnian gens. Suetonius (Vit. Cses., c. 9) mentions 
three authors who related that Crassus and Caesar were both concerned in this 
plot : and that, if it had succeeded, Crassus was to have assumed the dictator- 
ship, and made Caesar his master of the horse. The conspiracy, as these writers 
state, failed through the remorse or irresolution of Crassus. 

2 Catiline and Autronius] After these two names, in Havercamp's and many 
other editions, follow the words circiter nonas Decembres, i. e., about the fifth of 
December. 

3 On the first of January] Kalendis Januariis. On this day the consuls were 
accustomed to enter on their office. The consuls whom they were going to kill, 
Cotta and Torquatus, were those who had been chosen in the place of Autronius 
and Sylla. 

4 The two Spains] Hither and Thither Spain. Hispania Citerior and Ulterior, 
as they were called by the Romans* 



26 SALLTJST. 

with Praetorian authority, into Hither Spain ; Crassus pro- 
moting the appointment, because he knew him to be a bitter 
enemy to Cneius Pompey. jSTor were the senate, indeed, un- 
willing 1 to grant him the province ; for they wished so in- 
famous a character to be removed from the seat of govern- 
ment ; and many worthy men, at the same time, thought 
that there was some security in him against the power of 
Pompey, which was then becoming formidable. But this 
Piso, on his march towards his province, was murdered by 
some Spanish cavalry whom he had in his army. These bar- 
barians, as some say, had been unable to endure his unjust, 
haughty, and cruel orders ; but others assert that this body 
of cavalry, being old and trusty adherents of Pompey, 
attacked Piso at his instigation; since the Spaniards, they 
observe, had never before committed such an outrage, but 
had patiently submitted to many severe commands. This 
question we shall leave undecided. Of the first conspiracy 
enough has been said. 
^ XX. "When Catiline saw those, whom I have just above 
mentioned 2 , assembled, though he had often discussed many 
points with them singly, yet thinking it would be to his pur- 
pose to address and exhort them in a body, retired with them 
into a private apartment of his house, where, when all wit- 
nesses were withdrawn, he harangued them to the following 
effect: 

r If your courage and fidelity had not been sufficiently 
proved by me, this favourable opportunity 3 would have oc- 
curred to no purpose ; mighty hopes, absolute power, would 
in vain be within our grasp ; nor should I, depending on 
irresolution or ficklemindedness, pursue contingencies in- 
stead of certainties. But as I have, on many remarkable 
occasions, experienced your bravery and attachment to me, 
I have ventured to engage in a most important and glorious 
enterprise. I am aware, too, that whatever advantages or 
evils affect you, the same affect me ; and to have the same 
desires and the same aversions, is assuredly a firm bond of 
friendship. 

" What I have been meditating you have already heard 

1 XIX. Nor were the senate, indeed, unwilling, ij-c] See Dio Cass-, xxxvi , 27. 

2 XX. Just above mentioned] In c. 17. 

3 Favourable opportunity] Opportune, res. See the latter part of c. 16. 



CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. 27 

separately. But my ardour for action is daily more and 
more excited, when I consider what our future condition of 
life must be, unless we ourselves assert our claims to liberty 1 . 
For since the government has fallen under the power and 
jurisdiction of a few, kings and princes 3 have constantly been 
their tributaries ; nations and states have paid them taxes ; 
but all the rest of us, however brave and worthy, whether 
noble or plebeian, have been regarded as a mere mob, with- 
out interest or authority, and subject to those, to whom, if 
the state were in a sound condition, we should be a terror. 
Hence, all influence, power, honour, and wealth, are in their 
hands, or where they dispose of them ; to us they have left 
only insults 3 , dangers, prosecutions, and poverty. To such 
indignities, O bravest of men, how long will you submit ? 
Is it not better to die in a glorious attempt, than, after 
having been the sport of other men's insolence, to resign a 
wretched and degraded existence with ignominy? 

i But success (I call Gods and men to witness !) is in our 
own hands. Our years are fresh, our spirit is unbroken ; 
among our oppressors, on the contrary, through age and 
wealth, a general debility has been produced. We have 
therefore only to make a beginning ; the course of events 4 
will accomplish the rest. 

1 Assert our claims to liberty] Xosmet ipsi vindicamus in liber tatem. Unless 
we vindicate ourselves into liberty. See below, " En ilia, ilia, quam ssepe optastis, 
libertas," cfc. 

2 Kings and princes] Reges, tetrarchce. " Teirarclis were properly those who 
had the government of the fourth part of the country ; but at length, the signi- 
fication of the word being extended, it was applied to any governors of any 
country who were possessed of supreme authority, and yet were not acknowledged 
as kings by the Romans. See Hirt. Bell. Alex., c. 67 : Deiotarus, at that time 
tetrarch of almost all Gallograscia, a supremacy which the other tetrarchs would not 
allow to be granted him either by the laws or by custom, but indisputably 
acknowledged as king of Armenia Minor by the senate," $c. Dietsch. " Hesy- 
chius has, Terpdpxas, /Sao-iAci?. See Isidor., ix., 3; Mex. ab. Alex., ii., \7.' 7 
Colerus. " Cicero. Phil. II., speaks of Reges Tetrarchas Dynastasque. And 
Lucan has (vii., 46) Tretrarchse regesque tenent, magnique tyranni." Wasse. 
Horace also says, 

Modo reges atque tetrarchas, 

Omnia magna loquens. 
I have, with Rose, rendered the word princes, as being the most eligible term. 

3 Insults] Repulsas. Repulses in standing for office. 

4 The course of events, <§c.~\ Ccetera res expediet. — u Of. Cic. Ep. Div. xiii., 
26: explicare et expedire negotia" Gerlach. 



28 SALLFST. 

"Who in fche world, indeed, that has the feelings of 
a man, can endure that they should have a superfluity 
of riches, to squander in building over seas 1 and levelling 
mountains, and that means should be wanting to us even for 
the necessaries of life ; that they should join together two 
houses or more, and that we should not have a hearth to 
call our own ? They, though they purchase pictures, statues, 
and embossed plate 3 ; though they pull down new buildings 
and erect others, and lavish and abuse their wealth in every 
possible method, yet cannot, with the utmost efforts of 
caprice, exhaust it. But for us there is poverty at home, 
debts abroad ; our present circumstances are bad, our pros- 
pects much worse ; and what, in a word, have we left, but a 
miserable existence ? 

" Will you not, then, awake to action ? Behold that 
liberty, that liberty for which you have so often wished, with 
wealth, honour, and glory, are set before your eyes. All 
these prizes fortune offers to the victorious. Let the enter- 
prise itself, then, let the opportunity, let your poverty, your 
dangers, and the glorious spoils of war, animate you far more 
than my words. Use me either as your leader or your 
fellow-soldier ; neither my heart nor my hand shall be want- 
ing to you. These objects I hope to effect, in concert with 
you, in the character of consul ; unless, indeed, my expecta- 
tion deceives me, and you prefer to be slaves rather than 
masters." 

XXI. When these men, surrounded with numberless evils, 
but without any resources or hopes of good, had heard this 
address, though they thought it much for their advantage to 
disturb the public tranquillity, yet most of them called on 
Catiline to state on what terms they were to engage in the 
contest ; what benefits they were to expect from taking up 
arms ; and what support or encouragement they had, and in 
what quarters 3 . Catiline then promised them the abolition of 

1 Building over seas] See c. 13. 

2 Embossed plate] Toreumata. The same as vasa cartata, sculptured vases, 
c. 11. Vessels ornamented in bas-relief ; from ropeveiv, sculpere; see Bentley 
ad Hor. A. P., 441. " Perbona toreumata, in his pocula duo," cf*c. Cic. in Verr., 
iv., 18. 

3 XXI. What support or encouragement they had, and in what quarters] Quid 
z'Mque opis aut spei haberent; i. e. quid opis aut spei, et ubi, haberent. So 



CONSPIKACY OF CATILINE. 29 

their debts 1 ; a proscription of the wealthy citizens 2 ; offices, 
sacerdotal dignities, plunder, and all other gratifications 
which war, and the licence of conquerors, can afford. He 
added that Piso was in Hither Spain, and Publius Sittius 
Nucerinus with an army in Mauritania, both of whom were 
privy to his plans ; that Caius Antonius, whom he hoped to 
have for a colleague, was canvassing for the consulship, a 
man with whom he was intimate, and who was involved in 
all manner of embarrassments ; and that, in conjunction with 
him, he himself, when consul, would commence operations. 
He, moreover, assailed all the respectable citizens with re- 
proaches, commended each of his associates by name, re- 
minded one of his poverty, another of his ruling passion 3 , 
several others of their danger or disgrace, and many of the 
spoils which they had obtained by the victory of Sylla. 
When he saw their spirits sufficiently elevated, he charged 
them to attend to his interest at the election of consuls, 
and dismissed the assembly. 

XXII. .There were some, at that time, who said that 
Catiline, having ended his speech, and wishing to bind his 
accomplices in guilt by an oath, handed round among them, 
in goblets, the blood of a human body mixed with wine ; and 
that when all, after an imprecation, had tasted of it, as 
is usual in sacred rites, he disclosed his design; and they 
asserted 4 that he did this, in order that they might be the 

c. 27, init. Quern ubique opportunum credebat, i. e., says Cortius, " quern, et 
ubi ilium, opportunum credebat." 

1 Abolition of their debts] Tabular novas. Debts were registered on tablets; 
and, when the debts were paid, the score was effaced, and the tablets were ready 
to be used as new. See Ernesti's Clav. in Cic. sub voce. 

2 Proscription of the wealthy citizens] Proscriptionem locupletium. The prac- 
tice of proscription was commenced by Sylla, who posted up, in public places of 
the city, the names of those whom he doomed to death, offering rewards to such 
as should bring him their heads. Their money and estates he divided among his 
adherents, and Catiline excited his adherents with hopes of similar plunder. 

3 Another of his ruling passion] Admonebat—alium cupiditatis sua?. Rose 
renders this passage, " Some he put in mind of their poverty, others of their 
amours." De Brosses renders it, " II remontre a Tun sa pauvrete, a l'autre son 
ambition." Ruling passion, however, seems to be the proper sense of cupidi- 
tatis; as it is said, in c. 14, "As the passions of each, according to his years, 
appeared excited, he furnished mistresses to some, bought horses and dogs for 
others," #c. 

4 XXII. They asserted] Dictitare. In referring this word to the circulators of 



/ 



30 SALLFST. 

more closely attached to one another, by being mutually 
conscious of such an atrocity. But some thought that this 
report, and many others, were invented by persons who sup- 
posed that the odium against Cicero, which afterwards arose, 
might be lessened by imputing an enormity of guilt to the 
conspirators who had suffered death. The evidence which I 
have obtained, in support of this charge, is not at all in 
proportion to its magnitude. 

XXIII. Among those present at this meeting was Quin- 
tus Curius 1 , a man of no mean family, but immersed in vices 
and crimes, and whom the censors had ignominiously ex- 
pelled from the senate. In this person there was not less 
levity than impudence ; he could neither keep secret what 
he heard, nor conceal his own crimes ; he was altogether 
heedless what he said or what he did. He had long had a 
criminal intercourse with Fulvia, a woman of high birth ; 
but growing less acceptable to her, because, in his reduced 
circumstances he had less means of being liberal, he began, 
on a sudden, to boast, and to promise her seas and moun- 
tains 2 ; threatening her, at times, with the sword, if she were 
not submissive to his will; and acting, in his general con- 
duct, with greater arrogance than ever 3 . Fulvia, having 
learned the cause of his extravagant behaviour, did not keep 
such danger to the state a secret ; but, without naming her 
informant, communicated to several persons what she had 
heard, and under what circumstances, concerning Catiline's 
conspiracy. This intelligence it was that incited the feelings 
of the citizens to give the consulship to Marcus Tullius 
Cicero 4 . Tor before this period, most of the nobility were 
moved with jealousy, and thought the consulship in some 

the report, I follow Cortius, Gerlacb, Kritzius, and Bernouf. Wasse, with less 
discrimination, refers it to Catiline. This story of the drinking of human blood is 
copied by Floras, i\\, 1, and by Plutarch in his Life of Cicero. Dio Cassius 
(lib. xxxvii.) says that the conspirators were reported to have killed a child on 
the occasion. 

1 XXIII. Quintus Curius] The same that is mentioned in c. 17. 

2 To promise her seas and mountains] Maria montesque polliceri. A proverbial 
expression. Ter. Phorm., i., 2, 18: Modb non monies auri pollicens. Pers., iii., 
65: Et quid opus Cratero magnos promittere monies. 

3 With greater arrogance than ever] Ferociiis qtiam solitus erat. 

4 To Marcus Tullius Cicero] Cicero was now in his forty-third year, and had 
filled the office of quaestor, edile, and proctor. 



CONSPIBACY OF CATILINE. 31 

degree sullied, if a man of no family 1 , however meritorious, 
obtained it. But when danger showed itself, envy and 
pride were laid aside. 

XXIV. Accordingly, when the comitia were held, Marcus 
Tullius and Caius Antonius were declared consuls ; an event 
which gave the first shock to the conspirators. The ardour 
of Catiline, however, was not at all diminished ; he formed 
every day new schemes; he deposited arms, in convenient 
places, throughout Italy ; he sent sums of money, borrowed 
on his own credit, or that of his friends, to a certain Manlius 3 , 
at Fsesulse 3 , who was subsequently the first to engage in hos- 
tilities. At this period, too, he is said to have attached to 
his cause great numbers of men of all classes, and some 
women, who had, in their earlier days, supported an ex- 
pensive life by the price of their beauty, but who, when age 
had lessened their gains but not their extravagance, had 
contracted heavy debts. By the influence of these females, 
Catiline hoped to gain over the slaves in Borne, to get the 
city set on fire, and either to secure the support of their 
husbands or take away their lives. 

XXV. In the number of these ladies was Sempronia 4 , a 
woman who had committed many crimes with the spirit of a 
man. In birth and beauty, in her husband and her children, 
she was extremely fortunate ; she was skilled in Greek and 
Boman literature ; she could sing, play, and dance 5 , with 
greater elegance than became a woman of virtue, and pos- 

1 A man of no family] Novus homo. A term applied to such as could not 
boast of any ancestor that had held any curule magistracy, that is, had been 
consul, praetor, censor, or chief edile. 

2 XXIV. Manlius] He had been an officer in the army of Sylla, and, having 
been distinguished for his services, had been placed at the head of a colony of 
veterans settled about Fa^sulae ; but he had squandered his property in extra- 
vagance. See Plutarch, Vit. Cic, Dio Cassius, and Appian. 

3 Faasuhe] A town of Etruria, at the foot of the Appenines, not far from 
Florence. It is the Fesole of Milton : 

At evening from the top of Fesole, 

Or in Valdarno to descry now lands, §c. Par. L., i., 289. 

4 XXV. Sempronia] Of the same gens as the two Gracchi. iShe was the wife 
of Decimus Brutus. 

5 Sing, play, and dance] Psallere, saltare. As psallo signifies both to play on 
a musical instrument, and to sing to it while playing, I have thought it necessary 
to give both senses in the translation. 



32 SALLUST. 

sessed many other accomplishments that tend to excite the 
passions. But nothing was ever less valued by her than 
honour or chastity. Whether she was more prodigal of her 
money or her reputation, it would have been difficult to 
decide. Her desires were so ardent that she oftener made 
advances to the other sex than waited for solicitation. 
She had frequently, before this period, forfeited her word, 
forsworn debts, been privy to murder, and hurried into the 
utmost excesses by her extravagance and poverty. But her 
abilities were by no means despicable 1 ; she could compose 
verses, jest, and join in conversation either modest, tender, or 
licentious. In a word, she was distinguished 2 by much refine- 
ment of wit, and much grace of expression. 

XXVI. Catiline, having made these arrangements, still 
canvassed for the consulship for the following year ; hoping 
that, if he should be elected, he would easily manage Antonius 
according to his pleasure. Nor did he, in the mean time, 
remain inactive, but devised schemes, in every possible way, 
against Cicero, who, however, did not want skill or policy to 
guard against them. For, at the very beginning of his con- 
sulship, he had, by making many promises through Fulvia, 
prevailed on Quintus Curius, whom I have already mentioned, 
to give him secret information of Catiline's proceedings. He 
had also persuaded his colleague, Antonius, by an arrangement 
respecting their provinces 3 , to entertain no sentiments of dis- 
affection towards the state ; and he kept around him, though 
without ostentation, a guard of his friends and dependants. 

When the day of the comitia came, and neither Catiline's 
efforts for the consulship, nor the plots which he had laid for 

1 By no means despicable] Hand absurdum. Compare, Bene dicer e hand ab- 
surdum est, c. 3. 

2 She was distinguished, cf-c] Multce facetiae, multusque lepos inerat. Both 
facetiae and lepos mean " agreeableness, humour, pleasantry;" but lepos here 
seems to refer to diction, as in Cic. Orat., i., 7 : Magnus injocando lepos. 

3 XXVI. By an arrangement respecting their provinces] Pactione provincial. 
This passage has been absurdly misrepresented by most translators, except De 
Brosses. Even Rose, who was a scholar, translates pactione provincial, " by pro- 
mising a province 'to his colleague." Plutarch, in his Life of Cicero, says that the 
two provinces, which Cicero and his colleague Antonius shared between them, 
were Gaul and Macedonia, and that Cicero, in order to retain Antonius in the in- 
terest of the senate, exchanged with him Macedonia, which had fallen to himself, 
for the inferior province of Gaul. See Jug., c. 27. 



CONSPIRACY OP CATILINE. 33 

the consuls in the Campus Martius 1 , were attended with suc- 
cess, he determined to proceed to war, and to resort to the 
utmost extremities, since what he had attempted secretly had 
ended in confusion and disgrace 2 . 

XXVII. He accordingly despatched Caius Manlius to 
Fsesulse, and the adjacent parts of Etruria ; one Septimius, 
of Camerinum 3 , into the Picenian territory ; Caius Julius into 
Apulia; and others to various places, wherever he thought 
each would be most serviceable 4 . He himself, in the mean 
time, was making many simultaneous efforts at Borne ; he 
laid plots for the consul ; he arranged schemes for burning 
the city ; he occupied suitable posts with armed men ; he 
went constantly armed himself, and ordered his followers to 
do the same ; he exhorted them to be always on their guard 
and prepared for action ; he was active and vigilant by day 
and by night, and was exhausted neither by sleeplessness nor 
by toil. At last, however, when none of his numerous pro- 
jects succeeded 5 , he again, with the aid of Marcus Porcius 

1 Plots which he had laid for the consuls in the Campus Martius] Insidice quae 
consult in campo fecerat. I have here departed from the text of Cortius, who 
reads considibus, thinking that Catiline, in his rage, might have extended his plots 
even to the consuls-elect. But consult, there is little doubt, is the right reading, 
as it is favoured by what is said at the beginning of the chapter, insidias parabat 
Ciceroni, by what follows in the next chapter, consuli insidias tendere, and by the 
words, sperans, si designatus foret, facile se ex voluntate Antonio usurum; for if 
Catiline trusted that he should be able to use his pleasure with Antonius, he could 
hardly think it necessary to form plots against his life. I have De Brosses on my 
side, who translates the phrase, les pieges oil il comptoit faire perir le consul The 
words in campo, which look extremely like an intruded gloss, I wonder that Cor-, 
tius should have retained. " Consuli, 1 '' says Gerlach, " appears the more eligible, 
*iot only on account of consuli insidias tendere, c. 27, but because nothing but the 
death of Cicero was necessary to make everything favourable for Catiline." Krit- 
zius, Bernouf, Dietsch, Pappaur, Allen, and all the modern editors, read Consuli. 
See also the end of c. 27 : Si prius Ciceronem oppressisset. 

2 Had ended in confusion and disgrace] Asperafzdaque evenerant. I have bor- 
rowed from Murphy. 

3 XXVII. Of Camerinum] Camertem. " That is, a native of Camerinum, a 
town on the confines of Umbria and Picenum. Hence the noun Camers, as Cic. 
Pro. Syll., c. 19, inagro Camerti." Cortius. 

4 Wherever he thought each would be most serviceable] Ubi quemque opportu- 
num credebat " Proprie reddas: quern, et ubi ilium, opportunum credebat.'" 
Cortius. See c. 23. 

5 When none of his numerous projects succeeded] Ubi multa agitanti nihil 
procedit. 

D 



34 SALLT7ST. 

Lseca, convoked the leaders of the conspiracy in the dead 
of night, when, after many complaints of their apathy, he 
informed them that he had sent forward Manlius to that 
"body of men whom he had prepared to take up arms ; and 
others of the confederates into other eligible places, to make 
a commencement of hostilities ; and that he himself was eager 
to set out to the army, if he could but first cut off Cicero, 
who was the^chief obstruction to his measures. 

XXVIII. vWhulst, therefore, the rest were in alarm and 
hesitation, Caius Cornelius, a Eoman knight, who offered 
his services, and Lucius Yargunteius, a senator, in company 
with him, agreed to go with an armed force, on that very 
night, and with but little delay 1 , to the house of Cicero, under 
pretence of paying their respects to him, and to kill him 
unawares, and unprepared for defence, in his own residence. 
Eut Curius, when he heard of the imminent danger that 
threatened the consul, immediately gave him. notice, by the 
agency of Eulvia, of the treachery which was contemplated. 
The assassins, in consequence, were refused admission, and 
found that they had undertaken such an attempt only to be 
disappointed. 

In the mean time, Manlius was in Etruria, stirring up the 
populace, who, both from poverty, and from resentment for 
their injuries (for, under the tyranny of Sylla, they had lost 
their lands and other property), were eager for a revolution. 
He also attached to himself all sorts of marauders, who were 
numerous in those parts, and some of Sylla' s colonists, whose 
dissipation and extravagance had exhausted their enormous 
plunder, ,— ^ 

XXIX., "When these proceedings were reported to Cicero, 
he, being alarmed at the twofold danger, since he could no 
longer secure the city against treachery by his private efforts, 
nor could gain satisfactory intelligence of the magnitude or 
intentions of the army of Manlius, laid the matter, which 
was already a subject of discussion among the people, before 
the senate. The senate, accordingly, as is usual in any 

1 XXVIII. On that very night, and with but little delay] Ed node, pernio post. 
They resolved on going soon after the meeting broke up, so that they might reach 
Cicero's house early in the morning, which was the usual time for waiting on great 
men. Ingentem foribus domus alta superbis Mane salutantum toiis vomit cedibics 
andean. Virg. Georg. ii., 461. 



, 



CONSPIRACY OF CATILIXE. 35 

perilous emergency, decreed that the consuls should make 

IT THEIE CARE THAT THE COMMONWEALTH SHOULD BECEIYE 

mo injury. This is the greatest power which, according to 
the practice at Borne, is granted 1 by the senate to the 
magistrate, and which authorises him to raise troops ; to 
make war ; to assume unlimited control over the allies and 
the citizens ; to take the chief command and jurisdiction at 
home and in the field ; rights which, without an order of the 
people, the consul is not permitted to exercise. 

X X X. A few days afterwards, Lucius Ssenius, a senator, 
read to the senate a letter, which, he said, he had received 
from Faesulae, and in which it was stated that Caius Manlius, 
with a large force, had taken the field by the 27th of October 2 . 
Others at the same time, as is not uncommon in such a crisis, 
spread reports of omens and prodigies ; others of meetings 
being held, of arms being transported, and of insurrections 
of the slaves at Capua and in Apulia. In consequence of 
these rumours, Quintus Marcius Rex 3 was despatched, by a 
decree of the senate, to Fsesulae, and Quintus Metellus Cre- 
ticus 4 into Apulia and the parts adjacent ; both which officers, 
with the title of commanders 5 , were waiting near the city, 
haying been prevented from entering in triumph, by the 

1 XXIX. This is the greatest power which — is granted, <Jc] Ea potestas 
per senatum, more Romano, magistratui maxima permittitur. Cortius, mird 
judicii perversitate, as Kritzius observes, makes ea the ablative case, under- 
standing " decretione," "formula," or some such word; but, happily, no one has 
followed him. 

2 XXX. By the 27th of October] Ante diem VI, Kalendas Xovemlres. He 
means that they were in arms on or before that day. 

3 Quintus Marcius Rex] He had been proconsul in Cilicia, and was expecting a 
triumph for his successes. 

4 Quintus Metellus Creticus] He had obtained the surname of Oeticus from 
having reduced the island of Crete. 

5 Both which officers, with the title of commanders, tfc.~] Ii utrique ad urbem 
imperatores erant ; impediti ne triwnpharent calumnid paucorum, quibv.s omnia 
honesta atque inlwnesta vender e mos erat. " Imperator" was a title given by the 
army, and confirmed by the senate, to a victorious general, who had slain a cer- 
tain number of the enemy. What the number was is not known. The general 
bore this title as an addition to his name, until he obtained (if it were granted 
him) a triumph, for which he was obliged to wait ad urbem, near the city, since he 
was not allowed to enter the gates as long as he held any military command. 
These imperatores had been debarred from their expected honour by a party who 
would sell anything honourable, as a triumph, or anything dishonourable, as a 
licence to violate the laws. 

d2 



36 SALLTJST. 

malice of a cabal, whose custom was to ask a price for every- 
thing, whether honourable or infamous. The praetors, too, 
Quintus Pompeius Rufus, and Quintus Metellus Celer, were 
sent off, the one to Capua, the other to Picenum, and power 
was given them to levy a force proportioned to the exigency 
and the danger. The senate also decreed, that if any one 
should give information of the conspiracy which had been 
formed against the state, his reward should be, if a slave, his 
freedom and a hundred sestertia; if a freeman, a complete 
pardon and two hundred sestertia 1 . They further appointed 
that the schools of gladiators 2 should be distributed in Capua 
and other municipal towns, according to the capacity of each ; 
and that, at Eome, watches should be posted throughout the 
city, of which the inferior magistrates 3 should have the charge. 
XXXI. By such proceedings as these the citizens were 
struck with alarm, and the appearance of the city was 
changed. In place of that extreme gaiety and dissipation 4 , 
to which long tranqtiiHity 5 had given rise, a sudden gloom 
spread over all classes ; they became anxious and agitated; 
they felt secure neither in any place, nor with any person ; 
they were not at war, yet enjoyed no peace ; each measured 
the public danger by his own fear. The women, also, to 
whom, from the extent of the empire, the dread of war was 
new, gave way to lamentation, raised supplicating hands to 
heaven, mourned over their infants, made constant inquiries, 
trembled at everything, and, forgetting their pride and their 

1 A hundred sestertia — two hundred sestertia] A hundred sestertia were about 
807?. 5s. lOd. of our money. 

2 Schools of gladiators] Gladiatorial familial. Any number of gladiators under 
one teacher, or trainer (lanista), was called familia. They were to be distributed 
in different parts, and to be strictly watched, that they might not run off to join 
Catiline, See Graswinckelius, Rnpertus, and Gerlach. 

3 The inferior magistrates] The sediles, tribunes, quaestors, and all others below 
the consuls, censors, and praetors. Aul. Gell. xiii., 15. 

4 XXXI. Dissipation] Lascivia. "Devotion to public amusements and gaiety. 
The word is used in the same sense as in Lucretius, v. 1398 : 

Turn caput atque humeros plexis redimire coronis, 

Floribus et foliis, lascivia laeta monebat. 
Then sportive gaiety prompted them to deck their heads and shoulders with gar- 
lands of flowers and leaves.'" Bernouf. 

5 Long tranquillity] Diuturna quies. " Since the victory of Sylla to the time 
of which Sallust is speaking, that is, for about twenty years, there had been a 
complete cessation from civil discord and disturbance." Bernouf. 



CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. 37 

pleasures, felt nothing but alarm for themselves and their 
country. 

Yet the unrelenting spirit of Catiline persisted in the 
same purposes, notwithstanding the precautions that were 
adopted against him, and though he himself was accused by 
Lucius Paullus under the Plautian law 1 . At last, with a 
view to dissemble, and under pretence of clearing his cha- 
racter, as if he had been provoked by some attack, he walked 
into the senate-house. It was then that Marcus Tullius, the 
consul, whether alarmed at his presence, or fired with indig- 
nation against him, delivered that splendid speech, so bene- 
ficial to the republic, which he afterwards wrote and pub- 



TVhen Cicero sat down, Catiline, being prepared to pretend 
ignorance of the whole matter, intreatecl, with downcast 
looks and suppliant voice, that " the Conscript Pathers would 
not too hastily believe an) r thing against him;" saying "that 
he was sprung from such a family, and had so ordered his life 
from his youth, as to have every happiness in prospect ; and 
that they were not to suppose that he, a patrician, whose ser- 
vices to the Roman people, as well as those of his ancestors, 
had been so numerous, should want to ruin the state, when 
Marcus Tullius, a mere adopted citizen of Rome 3 , was eager 
to preserve it." When he was proceeding to add other in- 

1 The Plautian law] Lege Ph.utid. " This law was that of Mi Plautius Silanus, 
a tribune of the people, which was directed against such as excited a sedition in 
the state, or formed plots against the life of any individual," Cyprianus Popma. 
See Dr. Smith's Diet, of Gr. and Rom. Antiquities, sub Vis. 

2 Which he afterwards wrote and published] Quam postea scriptam edidit. 
This was the first of Cicero's four Orations against Catiline. The epithet applied 
to it by Sallust, which I have rendered M splendid," is luculentam ; that is, says 
Gerlach, "luminibus verborum et sententiarnm ornatam," distinguished by 
much brilliancy of words and thoughts. And so say Kritzius, Bernouf, and 
Dietsch. Cortius, who is followed by Dahl, Langius, and Miiller, makes the word 
equivalent merely to lucid, in the supposition that Sallust intended to bestow on 
the speech, as on other performances of Cicero, only very cool praise. Luculentus, 
however, seems certainly to mean something more than lucidus. 

3 A mere adopted citizen of Rome] Inquilinus civis urbis Romce. " Inquilinus" 
means properly a lodger, or tenant in the house of another. Cicero was born at 
Arpinum, and is therefore called by Catiline a citizen of Rome merely by adop- 
tion or by sufferance. Appian, in repeating this account (Bell. Civ. ii., 104), says, 

lyKovikivovj co pvjparL KoXovcn rovs ivouzovvras eV aXKoTpiais oiKiais. 






38 



SALLTTST. 



vectives, they ail raised an outcry against him, and called him 
an enemy and a traitor 1 . Being thus exasperated, " Since I 
am encompassed by enemies," he exclaimed 3 , " and driven to 
desperation, I will extinguish the flame kindled around me 
in a generalxuin.'' 

XXXII. (He then hurried from the senate to his own 
house ; and then, after much reflection with himself, thinking 
that, as his plots against the consul had been unsuccessful, 
and as he knew the city to be secured from fire by the watch, 
his best course would be to augment his army, and make pro- 
vision for the war before the legions could be raised, he set 
out in the dead of night, and with a few attendants, to the 
camp of Manlius. But he left in charge to Lentulus and 
Cethegus, and others of whose prompt determination he was 
assured, to strengthen the interests of their party in every 
possible way, to forward the plots against the consul, and to 
make arrangements for a massacre, for firing the city, and for 
other destructive operations of war ; promising that he him- 
self would shortly advance on the city with a large army. 

During the course of these proceedings at B-ome, Cains 
Manlius despatched some of his followers as deputies to 
Quintus Marcius Bex, with directions to address him 3 to the 
following effect : 

1 Traitor] Parricidam. See c. 14. "An oppressor or betrayer of his country 
is justly called a parricide ; for our country is the common parent of all. Cic. ad 
Attic." Wasse. 

2 Since I am encompassed by enemies, he exclaimed, <J'c] " It was not on this 
day, nor indeed to Cicero, that this answer was made by Catiline. It was a reply 
to Cato, uttered a few days before- the comitia for electing consuls, which were 
held on the 22nd day of October. See Cic. pro Mursena, c. 25. Cicero's speech 
was delivered on the 8th of November. Sallust is, therefore, in error on this point, 
as well as Florus and Valerius Maximus, who have followed him." Bernouf. 
From other accounts we may infer that no reply was made to Cicero by Catiline 
on this occasion. Plutarch, in his Life of Cicero, says that Catiline, before Cicero 
rose, seemed desirous to address the senate in defence of bis proceedings, but that 
the senators refused to listen to him. Of any answer to Cicero's speech, on the 
part of Catiline, he makes no mention. Cicero himself, in his second Oration 
against Catiline, says that Catiline could not endure his voice, but, when he was 
ordered to go into exile, " paruit, quievit," obeyed and submitted in silence. And 
in his Orator, c, 37, he says, " That most audacious of men, Catiline, when he 
was accused by me in the senate, was dumb." 

3 XXXII. With directions to address him, rj'c] Cum mandatis hujuscemodi. 
The communication, as Cortius observes, was not an epistle, but a verbal 
message. 



CONSPIRACY OP CATILINE. 39 

XXXIII. " "We call gods and men to witness, general, that 
we have taken* up arms neither to injure our country, nor to 
occasion peril to any one, but to defend our own persons 
from harm ; who, wretched and in want, have been deprived, 
most of us, of our homes, and all of us of our character and 
property, by the oppression and cruelty of usurers ; nor has 
any one of us been allowed, according to the usage of our 
ancestors, to have the benefit of the law 1 , or, when our pro- 
perty was lost, to keep our persons free. Such has been the 
inhumanity of the usurers and of the praetor 3 . 

"' Often have your forefathers, taking compassion on the 
commonalty at Eome, relieved their distress by decrees 3 ; and 
very lately, within our own memory, silver, by reason of the 
pressure of debt, and with the consent of all respectable 
citizens, was paid with brass 4 *. 

"Often too, we must own, have the commonalty them- 
selves, driven by desire of power, or by the arrogance of 
their rulers, seceded 5 under arms from the patricians. But at 
power or wealth, for the sake of which wars, and all kinds of 
strife, arise among mankind, we do not aim ; we desire only 
our liberty, which no honourable man relinquishes but with 
life. We therefore conjure you and the senate to befriend 
your unhappy fellow-citizens ; to restore us the protection of 

1 XXXIII. To have the benefit of the law] Lege uti. The law here meant was 
the Papirian law, by which it was provided, contrary to the old law of the Twelve 
Tables, that no one should be confined in prison for debt, and that the property of 
the debtor only, not his person, should be liable for what he owed. Livy (viii., 28) 
relates the occurrence which .gave rise to this law, and says that it ruptured one 
of the strongest bonds of credit. 

2 The prsetor] The prcetor urbanus, or city praetor, who decided all causes be- 
tween citizens, and passed sentence on debtors. 

3 Relieved their distress by decrees] Decretis suis inopice opitulati sunt. In 
allusion to the laws passed at various times for diminishing the rate of interest. 

4 Silver — was paid with brass] Agentum cere solutum est Thus a sestertius, 
which was of silver, and was worth four asses, was paid with one as, which was of 
brass; or the fourth part only of the debt was paid. See Plin. H. N. xxxiii., 3; 
and Velleius Paterculus, ii., 23 ; who says, quadrantem solvi, that a quarter of 
their debts were paid by the debtors, by a law of Valerius Flaccus, when he be- 
came consul on the death of Marius. 

5 Often — have the commonalty — seceded, cj-c] "This happened three times : 
1. To the Mons Sacer, on account of debt; Liv. ii., 32. 2. To the Aventine, and 
thence to the Mons Sacer, through the tyranny of Appius Claudius, the de- 
cemvir ; Liv. hi., 50. 3. To the Janiculum, on account of debt ; Liv. Epist. xi." 
Bernouf. 



40 SALLUST. 

the law, which the injustice of the praetor has taken from us ; 
and not to lay on us the necessity of considering how we 
may perish, so as best to avenge our blood." 

XXXIV. To this address Quintus Marcius replied, that, 
" if they wished to make any petition to the senate, they 
must lay down their arms, and proceed as suppliants to 
Borne;" adding, that "such had always been the kindness 1 
and humanity of the Eoman senate and people, that none 
had ever asked help of them in vain." 

Catiline, on his march, sent letters to most men of consular 
dignity, and to all the most respectable citizens, stating, that 
" as he was beset by false accusations, and unable to resist the" 
combination of his enemies, he was submitting to the will of 
fortune, and going into exile at Marseilles ; not that he was 
guilty of the great wickedness laid to his charge, but that the 
state might be undisturbed, and that no insurrection might 
arise from his defence of himself." 

Quintus Catulus, however, read in the senate a letter of a 
very different character, which, he said, was delivered to him 
in the name of Catiline, and of which the following is a copy : 

2 XXXV. " Lucius Catiline to Quintus Catulus, wish- 
ing health. Your eminent integrity, known to me by ex- 

1 XXXIV. That such had always been the kindness, cj'c] Ed mansuetudine 
atque misericordid senatum populumque Romamm semper fuisse. " That the 
senate, <f-c, had always been of such kindness." I have deserted the Latin for 
the English idiom. 

2 XXXV. The commencement of this letter is different in different editions. In 
Havercamp it stands thus: Egregiatua fides, re cognita, grata mihi, magnisin 
meis periculis, fiduciam commendationi mece tribuit. Cortius corrected it as follows : 
Egregia tua fides, re cognita, gratam in magnis periculis fiduciam commenda- 
tioni mece tribuit. Cortius's reading has been adopted by Kritzius, Bernouf, and 
most other editors, Gerlach and Dietsch have recalled the old text. That Cor- 
tius's is the better, few will deny; for it can hardly be supposed that Sallust used 
mihi, meis, and mem in such close succession. Some, however, as Rupertus and 
Gerlach, defend Havercamp's text, by asserting, from the phrase earum exemplum 
infra scriptwn, that this is a true copy of the letter, and that the style is, there- 
fore, not Sallust's, but Catiline's. But such an opinion is sufficiently refuted by 
Cortius, whose remarks I will transcribe: "Rupertus," says he, "quod in 
promptu erat, Catiline culpam tribuit, qui non eo, quo Crispus, stilo scripserit, 
Sed cur oratio ejus tarn apta et composita supra c. 20 refertur ? At, inquis, 
hie ipsum litterarum exemplum exhibetur. At vide mihi exemplum litterarum 
Lentuli, c. 44 ; et lege Ciceronem, qui idem exhibet, et senties sensum magis 
quam verba referri. Quare inanis hasc quidem excusatio." Yet it is not to be 
denied that grata mihi is the reading of all the manuscripts. 



CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. 41 

perience 1 , gives a pleasing confidence, in the midst of great 
perils, to my present recommendation 2 . I have determined, 
therefore, to make no formal defence 3 with regard to my new 
course of conduct ; yet I was resolved, though conscious of 
no guilt 4 , to offer you some explanation 5 , which, on my word 
of honour 6 , you may receive as true 7 . Provoked by injuries 

1 Known — by experience] Re cognita. " Cognita," be it observed, tironum 
gratia, is the nominative case. " Catiline had experienced the friendship of Ca- 
tulus in his affair with Fabia Terentia ; for it was by his means that he escaped 
when he was brought to trial, as is related by Orosius." Bernovf. 

2 Recommendation] Commendationi. His recommendation of his affairs, and of 
Orestilla, to the care of Catulus, 

3 Formal defence] Defensionem. Opposed to satisfactionem, which follows, 
and which means a private apology or explanation. " Defensio, a defence, was 
properly a statement or speech to be made against an adversary, or before judges ; 
satisfactio was rather an excuse or apology made to a friend, or any other person, 
in a private communication." Cortius. 

4 Though conscious of no guilt] Ex nulla conscientid de culpa. This phrase 
is explained by Cortius as equivalent ta "Propter conscientiam de nulla culpa," 
or " inasmuch as I am conscious of no fault." " De culpa" he adds, " is the same 
as culpm; so in the ii. Epist. to Caesar, c. 1: Xeque de futuro quisquam satis 
callidus; and c. 9: de Mis potissimum jactura fit." 

5 To make no formal defence — to offer you some explanation] Defensionem — 
parare; satisfactionem— proponere. " Parare" says Cortius, "is applied to a 
defence which might require some study and premeditation ; proponere to such a 
statement as it was easy to make at once." 

6 On my word of honour] Me dius fidius, sc. juvet. So may the god of faith 
help me, as I speak truth. But who is the god of faith ? Dius, say some, is the 
same as Deus (Plautus has Deus fidius, Asin. i., 1, 18) ; and the god here meant 
is probably Jupiter (sub dio being equivalent to sub Jove) ; so that Dius fidius 
(fidius being an adjective from fides) will be the Zevs memos of the Greeks. Me 
dius fidius will therefore be, " May Jupiter help me !" This is the mode of ex- 
plication adopted by Gerlach, Bernouf, and Dietsch. Others, with Festus (sub 
voce Medius fidius) make fidius equivalent to filius, because the ancients, accord- 
ing to Festus, often used D for L, and dius fidius will then be the same as Alos 
or Jovis filius, or Hercules, and me dius fidius will be the same as mehercules or 
mehercule. Varro de L. L. (v., 10, ed. Sprengel) mentions a certain iElius who 
was of this opinion. Against this derivation there is the quantity of fidius, of 
which the first syllable is short: Qucerebam Nonas Sanco fidione referrem, Ov. 
Fast, vi., 213. But if we consider dius the same as deus, we may as well consider 
dius fidius to be the god Hercules as the god Jupiter, and may thus make medius 
fidius identical with mehercules, as it probably is. " Tertullian, de Idol. 20, 
says that medius fidius is a form of swearing by Hercules." Schiller's Lex. sub 
Fidius. This point will be made tolerably clear if we consider (with Varro, v., 
10, and Ovid, he. cit.) Dius Fidius to be the same with the Sabine Sancus, or 
Semo Sancus, and Semo Sancus to be the same with Hercules. 

7 You may receive as true] Veram licet cognoscas. Some editions, before that 



42 SALLUST. 

and indignities, since, being robbed of the fruit of my labour 
and exertion 1 , 1 did not obtain the post of honour due to me 3 , 
I have undertaken, according to my custom, the public cause 
of the distressed. Not but that I could have paid, out of my 
own property, the debts contracted on my own security 3 ; 
while the generosity of Orestilla, out of her own fortune and 
her daughter's, would discharge those incurred on the security 
of others. Eut because I saw unworthy men ennobled with 
honours, and myself proscribed 4 on groundless suspicion, I 
have, for this very reason, adopted a course 5 , amply justifiable 
in my present circumstances, for preserving what honour is 
left to me. When I was proceeding to write more, intelli- 
gence was brought that violence is preparing against me. I 
now commend and entrust Orestilla to your protection 6 ; in- 
treating you, by your love for your own children, to defend 
her from injury 7 . Farewell." 

XXXVI. Catiline himself, having stayed a few days with 
Caius Elaminius Mamma in the neighbourhood of Arretium 8 , 

of Cortius, have quce — licet vera mecum recognoscas ; which was adopted from a 
quotation of Serviusad JEn. iv., 204. But twenty of the best MSS., according to 
Cortius, have veram licet cognoscas. 

1 Eobbed of the fruit of my labour and exertion] Fnvctu laboris industriceque 
mece privatus. " The honours which he sought he elegantly calls the fruit of his 
labour, because the one is obtained by the other." Cortius. 

2 Post of honour due to me] Statum dignitatis. The consulship. 

3 On my own security] Meis nominibus. "He uses the plural," says Herzo- 
gius, " because he had not borrowed once only, or from one person ; but oftentimes, 
and from many." No other critic attempts to explain this point. For alienis 
nominibus, which follows, being in the plural, there is very good reason. My 
translation is in conformity with Bernouf 's comment. 

4 Proscribed] Alienatum. " "Repulsed from all hope of the consulship." Ber- 
nouf. 

5 Adopted a course] Spes—secutus sum. " Spem sequi is a phrase often used 
when the direction of the mind to any thing, action, or course of conduct, and the 
subsequent election and adopt ion[of what appears advantageous, is signified. 7 ' Cor- 
this. 

6 Protection] Fidel. 

7 Entreating you, by your love for your own children, to defend her from injury] 
Earn ab injuria defendas, per liberos tuos rogatus. " Defend her from injury, 
being intreated [to do so] by [or for the sake of] your own children." 

8 XXXVI. In the neighbourhood of Arretium] Inagro Arretino. Havercamp, 
and many of the old editions, have Reatino ; " but," says Cortius, "if Catiline 
went the direct road to Fsesula?, as is rendered extremely probable by his pre- 
tence that he was going to Marseilles, and by the assertion of Cicero, made the 



CONSPIRACY OP CATILINE. 43 

while lie was supplying the adjacent parts, already excited to 
insurrection, with arms, marched with the fasces, and other 
ensigns of authority, to join Manlius in his camp. 

"Wlien this was known at Rome, the senate declared Catiline 
and Manlius enemies to the state, and fixed a day as to the 
rest of their force, before which they might lay down their 
arms with inipugity, except such as had been convicted of 
capital offences. They also decreed that the consuls should 
hold a levy ; that Antonius, with an army, should hasten in 
pursuit of Catiline ; and that Cicero should protect the city. 

At this period the empire of Rome appears to me to have 
been in an extremely deplorable condition 1 ; for though every 
nation, from the rising to the setting of the sun, lay in sub- 
. jection to her arms, and though peace and prosperity, which 
mankind think the greatest blessings, were hers in abundance, 
there yet were found, among her citizens, men who were bent, 
with obstinate determination, to plunge themselves and their 
country into ruin ; for, notwithstanding the two decrees of 
the senate 2 , not one individual, out of so vast a number, was 
induced by the offer of reward to give information of the 
conspiracy ; nor was there a single deserter from the camp of 
Catiline. So strong a spirit of disaffection had, like a pesti- 
t lence, pervaded the minds of most of the citizens. 
- XXXVII. Nor was this disaffected spirit confined to those 
who were actually concerned in the conspiracy; for the 
whole of the common people, from a desire of change, favoured 
the projects of Catiline. This they seemed to do in accordance 
with their general character ; for, in every state, they that 
are poor envy those of a better class, and endeavour to exalt 
thajactious 3 ; they dislike the established condition of things, 

day after his departure, that he was on his way to join Manlius, we must certainly 
read Arreiino" Arretium (now Arezzo) lay in his road to Fsesulae ; Eeate was 
many miles out of it. 

1 In an extremely deplorable condition] Multo maxime miser abile. Multo is 
added to superlatives, like longe. So c. 52, multo pulcherrimam earn nos habere- 
mus. Cortius gives several other instances. 

2 Notwithstanding the two decrees of the senate] Duobus senati decretis. I 
have translated it " the two decrees," with Rose. One of the two was that respect- 
ing the rewards mentioned in c. 30 ; the other was that spoken of in c. 36, allow- 
ing the followers of Catiline to lay down their arms before a certain day. 

3 XXXVII. Endeavour to exalt the factious] Malos extollunt. They strive to 
elevate into office those who resemble themselves. 






44 SALLUST. 

\ and long for something new ; they are discontented with their 
own circumstances, and desire a general alteration ; they can 
support themselves amidst tumult and sedition, without 
anxiety, since poverty does not easily suffer loss 1 . 

As for the populace of the city, they had become disaffected 3 
from various causes. In the first place 3 , suf;h as everywhere 
took the lead in crime and profligacy, wit]i others who had 
squandered their fortunes in dissipation, and, in a word, all 
whom vice and villany had driven from their homes, had 
flocked to Rome as a general receptacle of! impurity. In the 
next place, many, who thought of the success of Sylla, when 
they had seen some raised from common s61diers into senators, 
and others so enriched as to live in re|jal luxury and pomp, 
hoped, each for himself, similar results from victory, if they 
should once take up arms. In addition to this, the youth, 
who, in the country, had earned a scanty livelihood by manual 
labour, tempted by public and private largesses, had preferred 
idleness in the city to unwelcome toil in the field. To these, 
and all others of similar character, public disorders would 
furnish subsistence. It is not at all surprising, therefore, 
that men in distress, of dissolute principles and extravagant 
expectations, should have consulted the interest of the state 
no further than as it was subservient to their own. Besides, 
those whose parents, by the victory of Sylla, had been pro- 
scribed, whose property had been confiscated, and whose civil 
rights had been curtailed 4 , looked forward to the event of a 
war with precisely the same feelings. 

1 Poverty does not easily suffer loss] Egestas facile habetur sine damno. He 
that has nothing, has nothing to lose. Petron. Sat,, c. 119: Inops audacia 
tuta est. 

2 Had become disaffected] Prceceps abierat. Had grown demoralised, sunk in 
corruption, and ready to join in any plots against the state. So Sallust says of 
Sempronia,£>?YFce/)S abierat, c. 25. 

3 In the first place] Primum omnium. " These words refer, not to item and 
postremo in the same sentence, but to deinde at the commencement of the next." 
Bernovf. 

4 Civil rights had been curtailed] Jus libertatis imminutum erat. " Sylla, by 
one of his laws, had rendered the children of proscribed persons incapable of holding 
any public office; a law unjust, indeed, but which, having been established and 
acted upon for more than twenty years, could not be rescinded without inconve- 
nience to the government. Cicero, accordingly, opposed the attempts which were 
made, in his consulship, to remove this restriction, as he himself states in his 
Oration against Piso, c. 2." Bernouf. See Veil. Paterc, ii., 28; Plutarch, Vit. 



CONSPIEACY OF CATILINE. 45 

All those, too, who were of any party opposed to that of 
the senate, were desirous rather that the state should be 
embroiled, than that they- themselves should be out of power. 
This was an evil, which, after many years, had returned upon 
the community to the extent to which it now prevailed 1 . 

XXXVIII. Eor after the powers of the tribunes, in the 
consulate of Cneius Pompey and Marcus Crassus, had been 
fully restored 2 , certain young men, of an ardent age and 
temper, having obtained that high office 3 , began to stir up the 
populace by inveighing against the senate, and proceeded, in 
course of time, by means of largesses and promises, to in- 
flame them more and more ; by which methods they became 
popular and powerful. On the other hand, the most of the 
nobility opposed their proceedings to the utmost; under 
pretence, indeed, of supporting the senate, but in reality for 
their own aggrandisement. Eor, to state the truth in few 
words, whatever parties, during that period, disturbed the 
republic under plausible pretexts, some, as if to defend the 
rights of the people, others, to make the authority of the 
senate as great as possible, all, though affecting concern for 
the public good, contended every one for his own interest. 
In such contests there was neither moderation nor limit ; 
each party made a merciless use of its successes. 

XXXIX. After Pompey, however, was sent to the mari- 
time and Mithridatic wars, the power of the people was 
diminished, and the influence of the few increased. These few 
kept all public offices, the administration of the provinces/and 

Syll. ; Quintil., xi., 1, where a fragment of Cicero's speech, Be Proscriptorum 
Liberis, is preserved. This law of Sylla was at length abrogated by Julius Caesar, 
Suet. J. Cses. 41 ; Plutarch Yit. Caes. ; Dio Cass., xli., 18. 

1 This was an evil — to the extent to which it now prevailed] Id adeb malum 
multos post annos in civitatem reverterat. u Adeo^ says Cortius, " is partlcuJa 
eleganti-ssi-ina." Allen makes it equivalent to eb usque. 

2 XXXVIII. The powers of the tribunes — had been fully restored] Tribunicia 
potestas restituta. Before the time of Sylla, the power of the tribunes had 
grown immoderate, but Sylla diminished and almost annihilated it, by taking from 
them the privileges of holding any other magistracy after the tribunate, of publicly 
addressing the people, of proposing laws, and of listening to appeals. But in the 
consulship of Cotta, A.u.C. 679, the first of these privileges had been restored ; and 
in that of Fompey and Crassus, A.u.c. 683, the tribunes were reinstated in all 
their former powers. 

3 Having obtained that high office] Summam potestatem nacti. Cortius thinks 
these words spurious. 



SALLTTST. 



everything, else, in their own hands; they themselves lived 
free from harm 1 , in flourishing circumstances, and without 
apprehension ; overawing others, at the same time, with 
threats of impeachment 3 , so that, when in office, they might 
be less inclined to inflame the people. But as soon as a 
prospect of change, in this dubious state of affairs, had pre- 
sented itself, the old spirit of contention awakened their 
passions ; and had Catiline, in his first battle, come off vic- 
torious, or left the struggle undecided, great distress and 
calamity must certainly have fallen upon the state, nor would 
those, who might at last have gained the ascendancy, have 
been allowed to enjoy it long, for some superior power would 
have wrested dominion and liberty from them when weary 
and exhausted. 

There were some, however, unconnected with the con- 
spiracy, who set out to join Catiline at an early period of his 
proceedings. Among these was Aulus Pulvius, the son of a 
senator, w r hom, being arrested on his journey, his father 
ordered to be put to death 3 . In Rome, at the same time, 
Lentulus, in pursuance of Catiline's directions, was endea- 
vouring to gain over, by his own agency or that of others, all 
whom he thought adapted, either by principles or circum- 
stances, to promote an insurrection ; and not citizens only, 
but every description of men who could be of any service in 
war. 

XL. He accordingly commissioned one Publius Umbrenus 
to apply to certain deputies of the Allobroges 4 , and to 
lead them, if he could, to a participation in the war ; sup- 

1 XXXTX. Free from harm] Innoxii. In a passive sense. 

2 Overawing others — with threats of impeachment] C&teros judiciis terrere. 
" Accusationibus et judiciorum periculis." Bernouf. 

3 His father ordered to be put to death] Parens necari jussit. ° His father 
put him to death, not by order of the consuls, but by his own private authority; ' 
nor was he the only one who, at the same period, exercised similar power." Dion. 
Cass., lib. xxxvii. The father observed on the occasion, that * he had begotten 
him, not for Catiline against his country, but for his country against Catiline." 
Val. Max., v., 8. The Roman laws allowed fathers absolute control over the lives 
of their children. 

4 XL. Certain deputies of the Allobroges] Legates Alldbrogum. Plutarch, in 
his Life of Cicero, says that there were then at Rome two de}mties from 
this Gallic nation, sent to complain of oppression on the part of the Roman 
governors. 



CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. 47 

posing that as they were nationally and individually involved 
in debt, and as the Gauls were naturally warlike, they might 
easily be drawn into such an enterprise. Umbrenus, as he 
had traded in Gaul, was known to most of the chief men 
there, and personally acquainted with them ; and consequently, 
without loss of time, as soon as he noticed the deputies in 
the Forum, he asked them, after making a few inquiries 
about the state of their country, and affecting to commiserate 
its fallen condition, " what termination they expected to such 
calamities?" When he found that they complained of the 
rapacity of the magistrates, inveighed against the senate for 
not affording them relief, and looked to death as the only 
remedy for their sufferings, "Yet I," said he, "if you will 
but act as men, will show you a method by which you may 
escape these pressing difficulties." "When he had said this, 
the Allobroges, animated with the highest hopes, besought 
Umbrenus to take compassion on them ; saying that there 
was nothing so disagreeable or difficult, which they would 
not most gladly perform, if it would but free their country 
from debt. He then conducted them to the house of Deci- 
mus Brutus, which was close to the Eorum, and, on account 
of Sempronia, not unsuitable to his purpose, as Brutus was 
then absent from Borne 1 . In order, too, to give greater 
weight to his representations, he sent for Gabinius, and, in 
his presence, explained the objects of the conspiracy, and 
mentioned the names of the confederates, as well as those of 
many other persons, of every sort, who were guiltless of it, 
for the purpose of inspiring the ambassadors with greater 
confidence. At length, when they had promised their as- 
sistance, he let them depart. 

1 As Brutus was then absent from Rome] Nam turn Brutus ab Roma aberat. 
From this remark, say Zanchius and Omnibonus, it is evident that Brutus was 
not privy to the conspiracy. 

" What sort of woman Sempronia was, has been told in c. 25. Some have 
thought that she was the wife of Decimus Brutus; but since Sallust speaks of 
her as being in the decay of her beauty at the time of the conspiracy, and since 
Brutus, as may be seen in Caesar (B. G. vii., sub tin.), was then very young, it is 
probable that she had only an illicit connexion with him, but had gained such an 
ascendancy over his affections, by her arts of seduction, as to induce him to make 
her his mistress, and to allow her to reside in his house." Beauzee. 

I have, however, followed |those who think that Brutus was the husband of 



48 



SALLUST. 



XLI. Yet the Allobroges were long in suspense what 
course they should adopt. On the one hand, there was debt, 
an inclination for war, and great advantages to be expected 
from victory 1 ; on the other, superior resources, safe plans, 
and certain rewards 2 instead of uncertain expectations. As 
they were balancing these considerations, the good fortune of 
the state at length prevailed. They accordingly disclosed 
the whole affair, just as they had learned it, to Quintus 
Fabius Sanga 3 , to whose patronage their state was very greatly 
indebted. Cicero, being apprised of the matter by Sanga, 
directed the deputies to pretend a strong desire for the suc- 
cess of the plot, to seek interviews w T ith the rest of the con- 
spirators, to make them fair promises, and to endeavour to 
lay them open to conviction as much as possible. 

XLIL JMuch about the same time there were commotions 4 
in Hither and Farther Gaul, in the Picenian and Bruttian 
territories, and in Apulia. For those, whom Catiline had pre- 
viously sent to those parts, had begun, without consideration, 
and seemingly with madness, to attempt everything at once ; 
and, by nocturnal meetings, by removing armour and wea- 
pons from place to place, and by hurrying and confusing 
everything, had created more alarm than danger. Of these, 
Quintus Metellus Celer, the prsetor, having brought several 
to trial 5 , under the decree of the senate, had thrown them 
into prison, as had also Caius Muraena in Farther Gaul 6 , who 
governed that province in quality of legate. 

Sempronia. Sallust (c. 24), speaking of the women, of whom Sempronia was 
one, says that Catiline credebat posse — vivos eavttm vel adjungere sibi, vel inter- 
Jiceve. The truth, on such a point, is of little importance. 

1 XLI. To be expected from victory] In spe victovice. 

2 Certain rewards] Cevta pvcemia. " Offered by the senate to those who should 
give information of the conspiracy. See c. 30." Kuhnhardt. 

3 Quintus Fabius Sanga] " A descendant of that Fabius who, for having sub- ■ 
dued the Allobroges, was surnamed Allobrogicus." Bernouf. Whole states 
often chose patrons as well as individuals. 

4 XLII. There were commotions] Motus evat. " Motus is also used by Cicero 
and Livy in the singular number for seditiones and twnultus. No change is there- 
fore to be made in the text." Gevlach. "Motus bellicos intelligit, tumultus; ut 
Flor., iii., 13." Covtius. 

5 Having brought several to trial] Compluves — caussa cognita. " Cavssam 
cognosceve is the legal phrase for examining as to the authors and causes of any 
crime." Dietsch. 

6 Caius Murtena in Farther Gaul] In Ulteviove Gallia C. Murcena. All the 



CONSPIRACY OP CATILINE. 49 

XLIII. (But at Koine, in the mean time, Lentulus,'with 
the other leaders of the conspiracy, having secured what 
they thought a large force, had arranged, that as soon as 
Catiline should reach the neighbourhood of Fsesulse, Lucius 
Bestia, a tribune of the people, having called an assembly, 
should complain of the proceedings of Cicero, and lay the 
odium of this most oppressive war on the excellent consul 1 ; 
and that the rest of the conspirators, taking this as a signal, 
should, on the following night, proceed to execute their re- 
spective parts. 

These parts are said to have been thus distributed. Sta- 
tilius and Grabinius, with a large force, were to set on fire 
twelve places of the city, convenient for their purpose 2 , at "the 
same time ; in order that, during the consequent tumult 3 , an 
easier access might be obtained to the consul, and to the 
others whose destruction was intended ; Cethegus was to 
beset the gate of Cicero, and attack him personally with vio- 
lence ; others were to single out other victims ; while the sons 
of certain families, mostly of the nobility, were to kill their 
fathers : and, when all were in consternation at the massacre 
and conflagration, they were to sally forth to join Catiline. 

While they were thus forming and settling their plans, 

editions, previous to that of Cortius, have in citeriore GalUa. " But C. Marina," 
says that critic, ' ; commanded in Gallia Transalpina, or Ulterior Gaul, as appears 
from Cic. pro Mursena, c. 41. To attribute such an error to a lapse of memory in 
Sallust, would be absurd. I have, therefore, confidently altered citeriore into 
ulteriore." The praise of having first discovered the error, however, is due, not 
to Cortius, but to Felicius Durantinus, a friend of Rivius, in whose note on the 
passage his discovery is recorded. 

1 XLIII. The excellent consul] Optimo consv.li. With the exception of the 
slight commendation bestowed on his speech, lucidentam atque viilem rei public a>, 
c. 31, this is the only epithet of praise that Sallust bestows on the consul through- 
out his narrative. That it could be regarded only as frigid eulogy, is apparent from 
a passage in one of Cicero's letters to Atticus (xii., 21), in which he speaks of the 
same epithet having been applied to him by Brutus : "Brutus thinks that he 
pays me a great compliment when he calls me an excellent consul (optimum con- 
sulem) ; but what enemy could speak more coldly of me ?" 

2 Twelve places of the city, convenient for their purpose] Duodecim — opportumi 
loca. Plutarch, in his Life of Cicero, says a hundred places. Few narratives lose 
by repetition. 

3 In order that, during the consequent tumult] Qn-o tumidtu. " It is best," 
says Dietscb, " to take quo as the partkula finalis (to the end that), and tumidtu 
as the ablative of the instrument." 



SO SALLTJST. 

Cethegus was incessantly complaining of the want of spirit 
in his associates ; observing, that they wasted excellent op- 
portunities through hesitation and delay 1 ; that, in such an 
enterprise, there was need, not of deliberation, but of action ; 
and that he himself, if a few would support him, would storm 
the senate-house while the others remained inactive. Being 
naturally bold, sanguine, and prompt to act, he thought that 
success depended on rapidity of execution. 

XLIV. The Allobroges, according to the directions of 
Cicero, procured interviews, by means of Gabinius, with the 
other conspirators ; and from Lentulus, Cethegus, Statilius, 
and Cassius, they demanded an oath, which they might 
carry under seal to their countrymen, who otherwise w r ould 
hardly join in so important an affair. To this the others con- 
sented without suspicion ; but Cassius promised them soon 
to visit their country 2 , and, indeed, left the city a little be- 
fore the deputies. 

In order that the Allobroges, before they reached home, 
might confirm their agreement with Catiline, by giving and 
receiving pledges of faith, Lentulus sent with them one Titus 
Volturcius, a native of Crotona, he himself giving Volturcius 
a letter for Catiline, of which the following is a copy : 

1 Who I am, you will learn from the person whom I have 
sent to you. Reflect seriously in how desperate a situation 
you are placed, and remember that you are a man 3 . Consider 
what your views demand, and seek aid from all, even the 
lowest." In addition, he gave him this verbal message: 
" Since he was declared an enemy by the senate, for what 
reason should he reject the assistance of slaves ? That, in 
the city, everything which he had directed was arranged; 
and that he should not delay to make nearer approaches 
to it." 

XL V. (Matters having proceeded thus far, and a night 
being appointed for the departure of the deputies, Cicero, 

1 Delay] Dies prolatando. By putting off from day to day. 

2 XLIV. Soon to visit their country] Semet eb brevi venturum. "It is plain 
that the adverb relates to what precedes (ad elves') ; and that Cassius expresses 
an intention to set out for Gaul." Dietsch. 

3 Remember that you are a man] Memineris te virum. Eemember that you 
are a man, and ought to act as one. Cicero, in repeating this letter from memory 
(Orat. in Cat., iii., 5), gives the phrase, Cura ut virsis. 



CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. 51 

being by theni made acquainted with everything, directed 
the praetors 1 , Lucius Valerius Elaccus, and Caius Pomtinus, 
to arrest the retinue of the Allobroges, by lying in wait for 
them on the Milvian Bridge 3 ; he gave them a full explana- 
tion of the object with which they were sent 3 , and left them 
to manage the rest as occasion might require. Being military 
men, they placed a force, as had been directed, without dis- 
turbance, and secretly invested the bridge ; when the de- 
puties, with Yolturcius, came to the place, and a shout 
was raised from each side of the bridge 4 , the Gauls, at once 
comprehending the matter, surrendered themselves imme- 
diately to the praetors. Volturcius, at first, encouraging his 
companions, defended himself against numbers with his 
sword ; but afterwards, being unsupported by the Allobroges, 
he began earnestly to beg Pomtinus, to whom he was known, 
to save his life, and at last, terrified and despairing of safety, 
he surrendered himself to the praetors as unconditionally as 
to foreign enemies. 

XLYI. The affair being thus concluded, a full account of 
it was immediately transmitted to the consul by messengers. 
Great anxiety, and great joy, affected him at the same mo- 
ment. He rejoiced that, by the discovery of the conspiracy, 
the state was freed from danger ; but he was doubtful how 
he ought to act, when citizens of such eminence were de- 
tected in treason so atrocious. He saw that their punish- 
ment would be a weight upon himself, and their escape the 
destruction of the Commonwealth. Having, however, formed 
his resolution, he ordered Lentulus, Cethegus, Statilius, Ga- 
binius, and one Quintus Cceparius of Terracina, who was 
preparing to go to Apulia to raise the slaves, to be sum- 
moned before him. The others came without delay: but 
Coeparius, having left his house a little before, and heard of 
the discovery of the conspiracy, had fled from the city. The 
consul himself conducted Lentulus, as he was praetor, hold- 

1 XLV. The prsetors] Prcetoribus urbanis, the praetors of the city. 

2 The ]\iilvian Bridge] Ponte Mulvio. Now Ponte Molle. 

3 Of the object with which they were sent] Rem — cvjus gratia mittebantur. 

4 From each side of the bridge] Utrinque. " Utrinque," observes Cortius, 
41 glossse MSS. exponunt ex utrdque parte pontis" and there is little doubt that 
the exposition is correct. No translator; however, before myself, has availed him- 
self of it. 

e2 



52 



SALLUST. 



ing him by the hand, and ordered the others to be brought 
into the Temple of Concord, under a guard. Here he assem- 
bled the senate, and in a very full attendance of that body, 
introduced Volturcius with the deputies. Hither also he 
ordered Valerius Flaccus, the prsetor, to bring the box with 
the letters 1 which he had taken from the deputies. 

XL VII. Volturcius, being questioned concerning his jour- 
ney, concerning his letter 3 ; and lastly, what object he had had 
in view 3 , and from what motives he had acted, at first began to 
prevaricate 4 , and to pretend ignorance of the conspiracy ; but 
at length, when he was told to speak on the security of the 
public faith 5 , he disclosed every circumstance as it had really 
occurred, stating that he had been admitted as an associate, 
a few days before, by Gabinius and Cceparius ; that he knew 
no more than the deputies, only that he used to hear 
from Gabinius, that Publius Autronius, Servius Sylla, Lucius 
Vargunteius, and many others, were engaged in the con- 
spiracy. The Gauls made a similar confession, and charged 
Lentulus, who began to aifect ignorance, not only with the 
letter to Catiline, but with remarks which he was in the 
habit of making, " that the sovereignty of Borne, by the 
Sibylline books, was predestined to three Cornelii ; that China 
and Sylla had ruled already 6 ; and that he himself was the 

. 1 XLVI. The box with the letters] Sannium cum Uteris. Litterce may be 
rendered either letter or letters. There is no mention made previously of more 
letters than that of Lentulus to Catiline, c. 44. But as it is not likely that the 
deputies carried a box to convey only one letter, I have followed other translators 
by putting the word in the plural. The oath of the conspirators, too, which was 
a written document, was probably in the box. 

2 XL VII. His letter] Litteris. His own letter to Catiline, c. 44. So prater 
litteras a little below. 

3 What object he had had in view, cfc] Quid, aid qua de causa, consilii 
habuisset. What design he had entertained, and from what motive he had enter- 
tained it. 

4 To prevaricate] Finger e alia. "To pretend other things than what had 
reference to the conspiracy." Bemouf. 

5 On the security of the public faith] Fidepublica. " Cicero pledged to him 
the public faith, with the consent of the senate; or engaged, in the name of the 
republic, that his life should be spared, if he would but speak the truth/' Ber- 
novf. 

6 That Cinna and Sylla had ruled already] Cinnam atque Syllam antea. 
" Had ruled," or something similar, must be supplied. Cinna had been the 
means of recalling Marius from Africa, in conjunction with whom he domineered 
over the city, and made it a scene of bloodshed and desolation. 



CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. 53 

third, whose fate it would be to govern the city ; and that 
this, too, was the twentieth year since the Capitol was burnt ; 
a year which the augurs, from certain omens, had often said 
woidd be stained with the blood of civil war." 

The letter then being read, the senate, when all had pre- 
viously acknowledged their seals 1 , decreed that Lentulus, 
being deprived of his office, should, as well as the rest, be 
placed in private custody 2 . Lentulus, accordingly, was given 
in charge to Publius Lentulus Spinther, who was then gedile ; 
Cethegus, to Quintus Cornificius ; Statilius, to Caius Caesar ; 
Grabinius, to Marcus Crassus ; and Cceparius, who had just 
before been arrested in his flight, to Cneius Terentius, a 
senator. 

XL VIII. The common people, meanwhile, who had at 
first, from a desire of change in the government, been too 
much inclined to war, having, on the discovery of the plot, 
altered their sentiments, began to execrate the projects of 
Catiline, to extol Cicero to the skies ; and, as if rescued 
from slavery, to give proofs of joy and exultation. Other 
effects of war they expected as a gain rather than a loss ; 
but the burning of the city they thought inhuman, out- 
rageous, and fatal especially to themselves, whose whole pro- 
perty consisted in their daily necessaries and the clothes 
which they wore. 

C On the following day, a certain Lucius Tarquinius was 
brought before the senate, who was said to have been ar- 
rested as he was setting out to join Catiline. This person, 
having offered to give information of the conspiracy, if the 
public faith were pledged to him 3 , and being directed by the 

1 Their seals] Signa sua. " Leurs cachets, leurs sceaux." Bernouf. The 
Romans tied their letters round with a string, the knot of which they covered 
with wax, and impressed with a seal. To open the letter it was necessary to 
cut the string: " nos linum incidimus." Cic. Or. in Cat., iii., 5. See also C. Nep. 
Paus. 4, and Adam's Roman Antiquities. The seal of Lentulus had on it a like- 
ness of one of his ancestors; see Cicero, loc. cit. 

2 In private custody ] In Uteris custodiis. Literally, in " free custody," but 
11 private custody" conveys a better notion of the arrangement to the mind of the 
English reader. It was called free because the persons in custody were not con- 
fined in prison. Plutarch calls it adeafjiov (pvXaKrjv, as also Dion., cap. lviii., 3. 
See Tacit. Ann., vi., 3. It was adopted in the case of persons of rank and consi- 
deration. 

3 XLVIII. If the public faith were pledged to him] Si fides publico, data esset. 
See c. 47. 






54 SALLTJST. 

consul to state what he knew, gave the senate nearly the 
same account as Volturcius had given, concerning the in- 
tended conflagration, the massacre of respectable citizens, 
and the approach of the enemy, adding that " he was sent by 
Marcus Crassus to assure Catiline that the apprehension of 
Lentulus, Cethegus, and others of the conspirators, ought not 
to alarm him, but that he should hasten, with so much the 
more expedition, to the city, in order to revive the courage 
of the rest, and to facilitate the escape pf those in custody 1 ." 
When Tarquinius named Crassus, a man of noble birth, of 
very great wealth, and of vast influence, some, thinking the 
statement incredible, others, though they supposed it true, 
yet, judging that at such a crisis a man of such power 2 was 
rather to be soothed than irritated (most of them, too, from 
personal reasons, being under obligation to Crassus), ex- 
claimed that he was " a false witness," and demanded that 
the matter should be put to the vote. Cicero, accordingly, 
taking their opinions, a full senate decreed, " that the testi- 
mony of Tarquinius appeared false ; that he himself should 
be kept in prison ; and that no further liberty of speaking 3 
should be granted him, unless he should name the person 
at whose instigation he had fabricated so shameful a ca- 
lumny." 

There were some, at that time, who thought that this affair 
was contrived by Publius Autronius, in order that the inte- 
rest of Crassus, if he were accused, might, from participation 
in the danger, more readily screen the rest. Others said that 
Tarquinius was suborned by Cicero, that Crassus might not 
disturb the state, by taking upon him, as was his custom 4 , the 
defence of the criminals. That this attack on his character 

1 And to facilitate the escape of those in custody] Et illi facilius e periculo 



2 A man of such power] Tanta vis hominis. So great power of the man. 

3 Liberty of speaking] Potestatem. " Potestatem loquendi." Cyprianus Popma. 
As it did not appear that he spoke the truth, the pledge which the senate had 
given him, on condition that Tie spoke the truth, went for nothing ; he was not 
allowed to continue his evidence, and was sent to prison. 

4 As was his custom] More suo. Plutarch, in his Life of Crassus, relates that 
frequently when Pompey, CaBsar, and Cicero, had refused to undertake the de- 
fence of certain persons, as being unworthy of their support, Crassus would 
plead in their behalf; and that he thus gained great popularity among the com- 
mon people. 



CO^SPIEACX OE CATILHSTE. 55 

was made by Cicero, I afterwards heard Crassus himself 
assert. 

XLIX.; Yet, at the same tune, neither by interest, nor by 
solicitation, nor by bribes, could Quintus Catulus, and Caius 
Piso, prevail upon Cicero to have Caius Caesar falsely ac- 
cused, either by means of the AUobroges, or any other evi- 
dence. Both of these men were at bitter enmity with 
Caesar ; Piso, as having been attacked by him, when he was 
on 1 his trial for extortion, on a charge of having illegally put 
to death a Transpadane Graul ; Catulus, as having hated him 
ever since he stood for the pontificate, because, at an ad- 
vanced age, and after filling the highest offices, he had been 
defeated by Caesar, who was then comparatively a youth 3 . 
The opportunity, too, seemed favourable for such an accu- 
sation; for Caesar, by extraordinary generosity in private, 
and by magnificent exhibitions in public 3 , had fallen greatly 
into debt. But when they failed to persuade the consul to 
such injustice, they themselves, by going from one person to 
another, and spreading fictions of their own, which they pre- 
tended to have heard from Volturcius or the AUobroges, 
excited such violent odium against him, that certain Roman 
knights, who were stationed as an armed guard round the 
Temple of Concord, being prompted, either by the greatness 

1 XLIX. Piso, as having been attacked by him, when he was on, e}c.~] Piso, 
oppugnatus in judicio repetundarum propter cujusdam Transpadani supplicium 
injustwn. Such is the reading and punctuation of Cortius. Some editions insert 
pecuniam.m before repetundarum, and some a comma after it. I have interpreted 
the passage in conformity with the explanation of Kritzius, which seems to me 
the most judicious that has been offered. Oppugnatus, says he, is equivalent to 
graviter vexatus, or violently assailed ; and Piso was thus assailed by Caesar on 
account of his unjust execution of the Gaul ; the words in judicio repetundarum 
merely mark the time when Caesar's attack was made. W T hile he was on his trial 
for one thing, he was attacked by Caesar for another. Gerlach, observing that 
the words in judicio are wanting in one MS., would omit them, and make 
oppugnatus govern pecuniarum repetundarum, as if it were accusatus; a change 
which would certainly not improve the passage. The Galli Transpadani seem to 
have been much attached to Caesar; see Cic. Ep. ad Att., v., 2; ad Fam., 
xvi., 12. 

2 Comparatively a youth] Adolescentulo. Caesar was then in the thirty-third 
or, as some say, the thirty-seventh year of his age. See the note on this word, 
c. 3. 

3 By magnificent exhibitions in public] Publice maximis muneribus. Shows 
of gladiators. 



1 



56 SALLUST. 

of the danger, or by the impulse of a high spirit, to testify 
more openly their zeal for the republic, threatened Caesar 
with their swords as he went out of the senate-house. 

L. Whilst these occurrences were passing in the senate, 
and whilst rewards were being voted, on approbation of their 
evidence, to the Allobrogian deputies and to Titus Voltur- 
cius, the freedmen, and some of the other dependants of 
Lentulus, were urging the artisans and slaves, in various 
directions throughout the city 1 , to attempt his rescue j some, 
too, applied to the ringleaders of the mob, who were always 
ready to disturb the state for pay. Cethegus, at the same 
time, was soliciting, through his agents, his slaves 2 and freed- 
men, men trained to deeds of audacity, to collect themselves 
into an armed body, and force a way into his place of con- 
finement. 

The consul, when he heard that these things were in agita- 
tion, having distributed armed bodies of men, as the circum- 
stances and occasion demanded, called a meeting of the 
senate, and desired to know " what they wished to be done 
concerning those who had been committed to custody." A 
full senate, however, had but a short time before 3 declared 
them traitors to their country. On this occasion, Decimus Ju- 
nius Silanus, who, as consul elect, was first asked his opinion, 
moved 4 that capital punishment should be inflicted, not 
I 

1 L. In various directions throughout the city] Variis itineribus — in vicis. 
Going hither and thither through the streets. 

2 Slaves] Familiam. " Servos suos, qui proprie famUia" Cortius. Familia 
is a number of famuli. 

3 A full senate, however, had but a short time before, <J*c.] The senate had 
already decreed that they were enemies to their country ; Cicero now calls a 
meeting to ascertain what sentence should be passed on them. 

4 On this occasion — moved] Tunc- — decreverat. The tunc (or, as most editors 
have it, turn) must be referred to the second meeting of the senate, for it does not 
appear that any proposal concerning the punishment of the prisoners was made 
at the first meeting. There would be no doubt on this point, were it not for 

he pluperfect tense, decreverat. I have translated it as the perfect. We 
must suppose that Sallust had his thoughts on Csesar's speech, which was to 
follow, and signifies that all this business had been done before Caesar addressed 
the house. Kritzius thinks that the pluperfect was referred by Sallust, not to 
Caesar's speech, but to the decree of the senate which was finally made; but this 
is surely a less satisfactory method of settling the matter. Sallust often uses 
the pluperfect, where his reader would expect the perfect; see, for instance, 
oonciisseraty at the beginning of c. 24. 



CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. 57 

only on those who were in confinement, but also on Lucius 
Cassius, Publius Purius, Publius Unibrenus, and Quintus 
Annius, if they should be apprehended ; but afterwards, 
being influenced by the speech of Caius Caesar, he said that 
he would go over to the opinion of Tiberius Nero 1 , who had 
proposed that the guards should be increased, and that the 
senate should deliberate further on the matter. Caesar, when 
it came to his turn, being asked his opinion by the consul, 
spoke to the following eiFect : 

LI. " It becomes all men 3 , Conscript Fathers, who delibe- 
rate on dubious matters, to be influenced neither by hatred, 
affection, anger, nor pity. The mind, when such feelings 
obstruct its view, cannot easily see what is right; nor has 
any human being consulted, at the same moment, his pas- 
sions and his interest. TThen the mind is freely exerted, its 
reasoning is sound; but passion, if it gain possession of it, 
becomes its tyrant, and reason is powerless. 

"I could easily mention, Conscript Fathers, numerous 
examples of kings and nations, who, swayed by resentment 
or compassion, have adopted injudicious courses of conduct ; 
but I had rather speak of those instances in which our an- 
cestors, in opposition to the impulse of passion, acted with 
wisdom and sound policy. 

" In the Macedonian war, which we carried on against 
king Perses, the great and powerful state of Rhodes, which 
had risen by the aid of the Roman people, was faithless and 
hostile to us ; yet, when the war was ended, and the conduct 
of the Rhodians was taken into consideration, our forefathers 
left them unmolested, lest any should say that war was made 

1 1 hat he would go over to the opinion of Tiberius Nero J Pedwus in sententiam 
Tib. Xeronis — iturum. Any question submitted to the senate was decided by 
the majority of votes, which was ascertained either by numeratio, a counting of 
the votes, or by discessio, when those who were of one opinion, at the direction of 
the presiding magistrate, passed over to one side of the house, and those who 
were of the contrary opinion, to the other. See Aul. Gell., xiv., 7; Suet. Tib., 31 ; 
Adam's Rom. Ant. ; Dr. Smith's Dictionary, Art. Senatus. 

2 LI. It becomes all men, tj'c] The beginning of this speech, attributed to 
Caesar, is imitated from Demosthenes, He pi tcou iv Xepaovrjcrcp irpayparcov I 

E&et pev, d) avdpes A@r)va7oi. tovs \eyovras anavras iv vpiv pr}T€ 
npos e^Bpav TTOLtlcrOai \6yov p-qbiva, prjre npos X"*P LV ' " ^ should be 
incumbent on all who speak before you, Athenians, to advance no sentiment 
with any view either to enmity or to favour." 



58 SALLTTST. 

upon them for the sake of seizing their wealth, rather than of 
punishing their faithlessness. Throughout the Punic wars, 
too, though the Carthaginians, both during peace, and in sus- 
pensions of arms, were guilty of many acts of injustice, yet 
our ancestors never took occasion to retaliate, but considered 
rather what was worthy of themselves, than what might 
justly be inflicted on their enemies. 
Nr " Similar caution, Conscript Fathers, is to be observed by 
yourselves, that the guilt of Lentulus, and the other con- 
spirators, may not have greater weight with you than your 
own dignity, and that you may not regard your indignation 
more than your character. If, indeed, a punishment adequate 
to their crimes be discovered, I consent to extraordinary mea- 
sures 1 ; but if the enormity of their crime exceeds whatever 
can be devised 3 , I think that we should inflict only such 
penalties as the laws have provided. 

- " Most of those, who have given their opinions before me, 
have deplored, in studied and impressive language 3 , the sad 
fate that threatens the republic ; they have recounted the 
barbarities of war, and the afflictions that would fall on the 
vanquished ; they have told us that maidens would be dis- 
honoured, and youths abused ; that children would be torn 
from the embraces of their parents ; that matrons would be 
subjected to the pleasure of the conquerors ; that temples 
and dwelling-houses would be plundered; that massacres 
and fires would follow ; and that every place would be filled 
with arms, corpses, blood, and lamentation. But to what 
end, in the name of the eternal gods ! was such eloquence 
directed ? "Was it intended to render you indignant at the 
conspiracy ? A speech, no doubt, will inflame him whom so 
frightful and monstrous a reality has not provoked! Far 
from it : for to no man does evil, directed against himself, 
appear a light matter ; many, on the contrary, have felt it 
more seriously than was right. 

1 I consent to extraordinary measures] Novum consilium adprobo. " That is, 
I consent that you depart from the usage of your ancestors, by which Roman 
citizens were protected from death." Bernouf. 

2 Whatever can be devised] Omnium ingenia. 

3 Studied and impressive language] Composite at que magnifice. Composite ', in 
language nicely put together; elegantly. Magnifice, in striking or imposing 
terms. Composite is applied to the speech of Cresar, by Cato, in the following 
chapter. 



CONSPIRACY OP CATILINE. 59 

" But to different persons, Conscript Fathers, different 
degrees of licence are allowed. If those who pass a life sunk 
in obscurity, commit any error, through excessive anger, 
few become aware of it, for their fame is as limited as their 
fortune; but of those who live invested with extensive 
power, and in an exalted station, the whole world knows 
the proceedings. Thus in the highest position there is the 
least liberty of action ; and it becomes us to indulge neither 
partiality nor aversion, but least of all animosity ; for what 
in others is called resentment, is in the powerful termed 
violence and cruelty. 

" I am indeed of opinion, Conscript Fathers, that the 
utmost degree of torture is inadequate to punish their crime; 
but the generality of mankind dwell on that which happens 
last, and, in the case of malefactors, forget their guilt, and 
talk only of their punishment, should that punishment have 
been inordinately severe. I feel assured, too, that Decimus 
Silanus, a man of spirit and resolution, made the suggestions 
which he offered, from zeal for the state, and that he had no 
view, in so important a matter, to favour or to enmity ; such 
I know to be his character, and such his discretion 1 . Tet 
his proposal appears to me, I will not say cruel (for what 
can be cruel that is directed against such characters?), but 
foreign to our policy. For assuredly, Silanus, either your 
fears, or their treason, must have induced you, a consul 
elect, to propose this new kind of punishment. Of fear it 
is unnecessary to speak, when, by the prompt activity of 
that distinguished man our consul, such numerous forces 
are under arms ; and as to the punishment, we may say, 
what is indeed the truth, that in trouble and distress, death 
is a relief from suffering, and not a torment 3 ; that it 

1 Such I know to be his character, such his discretion] Eos mores, earn 
modestiam viri cognovi. I have translated modestiam, discretion, which seems to be 
the proper meaning of the word. Beauzee renders it prudence, and adds a note upon 
it, which may be worth transcription. " I translate modestia," says he, " by pru- 
dence, and think myself authorised to do so. Sic definitur a Stoicis, says Cicero 
(De Off., i., 40), ut modestia sit scientia earum rerum, quce agentur, aut dicentur, 
loco suo collocandarum ; and shortly afterwards, Sic Jit ut modestia scientia sit 
opportunitatis idoneorum ad agendum temporum. And what is understood in 
French by prudence ? It is, according to the Dictionary of the Academy, ' a 
virtue by which we discern and practise what is proper in the conduct of life.' 
This is almost a translation of the words of Cicero." 

2 That — death is a relief from suffering, not a torment, §c. ] This Epicurean 



60 SALLTJST. 

f 

puts an end to all human woes ; and that, beyond it, there i 
no place either for sorrow or joy. 

" But why, in the name of the immortal gods, did you no'' 



iOt 

add to your proposal, Silanus, that, before they were put to 
death, they should be punished with the scourge ? Was it 
because the Porcian law 1 forbids it ? But other laws 2 forbid 
condemned citizens to be deprived of life, and allow them to 
go into exile. Or was it because scourging is a severer 
penalty than death? Yet what can be too severe, or too 
harsh, towards men convicted of such an offence ? But if 
scourging be a milder punishment than death, how is it con- 
sistent to observe the law as to the smaller point, when you 
disregard it as to the greater ? 

" But who, it may be asked, will blame any severity that 
shall be decreed against these parricides 3 of their country ? 
I answer that time, the course of events 4 , and fortune, 
whose caprice governs nations, may blame it. "Whatever 
shall fall on the traitors, will fall on them justly ; but it is 
for you, Conscript Fathers, to consider well what you resolve 
to inflict on others. All precedents productive of evil effects 5 , 
have had their origin from what was good ; but when a 
government passes into the hands of the ignorant or un- 

doctrine prevailed very much at Eome in Caesar's time, and afterwards. We may 
very well suppose Caesar to have been a sincere convert to it. Cato alludes to this 
passage in the speech which follows ; as also Cicero, in his fourth Oration against 
Catiline, c. 4. See, for opinions on this point, the first book of Cicero's Tusculan 
Questions. 

1 The Porcian law] Lex Portia. A law proposed by P. Porcius Lceca, one of 
the tribunes, A.u.C. 454, which enacted that no one should bind, scourge, or kill 
a Roman citizen. See Liv., x., 9; Cic. pro. Rabir. 3, 4; Verr., v., 63; de 
Rep. ii., 31. 

2 Other laws] Alice leges. So Ca?sar says below, " Turn lex Porcia aliaeque 
paratse, quibus legibus auxilium damnatis permissum ;" what other laws these 
were is uncertain. One of them, however, was the Sempronian law, proposed by 
Caius Gracchus, which ordained that sentence should not be passed on the life of 
a Roman citizen without the order of the people. See Cic. pro Rabir. 4. So 
" lex Porcia legesque Sempronia? !" Cic. in Verr., v., 63. 

3 Parricides] See c. 14, 32. 

4 The course of events] Dies. " Id est, temporis momentum (der veri'm- 
derte Zeitpunkt)^ Dietsch. Things change, and that which is approved at one 
period, is blamed at another. Tempus and dies are sometimes joined (Liv., xxii., 
39, ii., 45), as if not only time in general, but particular periods, as from day to 
day, were intended. 

5 All precedents productive of evil effects] Omnia mala exempla. Examples 
of severe punishments are meant. 



CONSPIKACY OP CATILINE. 61 

principled, any new example of severity 1 , inflicted on deserv- 
ing and suitable objects, is extended to those that are im- 
proper and undeserving of it. The Lacedaemonians, when 
they had conquered the Athenians 2 , appointed thirty men to 
govern their state. These thirty began their administration 
by putting to death, even without a trial, all who were 
notoriously wicked, or publicly detestable; acts at which the 
people rejoiced, and extolled their justice. But afterwards, 
when their lawless power gradually increased, they pro- 
ceeded, at their pleasure, to kill the good and bad indis- 
criminately, and to strike terror into all ; and thus the state, 
overpowered and enslaved, paid a heavy penalty for its im- 
pruiWxultation. 

" "Within our own memory, too, when the victorious Sylla 
ordered Damasippus 3 , and others of similar character, who 
had risen by distressing their country, to be put to death, 
who did not commend the proceeding ? All exclaimed that 
wicked and factious men, who had troubled the state with 
their seditious practices, had justly forfeited their lives. Yet 
this proceeding was the commencement of great bloodshed. 
For whenever any one coveted the mansion or villa, or even 
the plate or apparel of another, he exerted his influence to 
have him numbered among the proscribed. Thus they, to 
whom the death of Damasippus had been a subject of joy, 
were soon after dragged to death themselves ; nor was there 
anv cessation of slaughter, until Svlla had glutted all Mis 
partisans with riches. 

" Such excesses, indeed, I do not fear from Marcus Tul- 
lius, or in these times. But in a large state there arise many 
men of various dispositions. At some other period, and 
under another consul, who, like the present, may have an 

1 Any new example of seventy, <Jy\] Novum illud exemplum ah dignis et 
idmeis ad indignos et non idoneos transfertur. Gerlach, Kritzius, Dietsch, and 
Bernouf, agree in giving to this passage the sense which is given in the translation. 
Digni and idonei are here used in a bad sense, for dignl et idonei quipcend affici- 
antui\ deserving and fit objects of punishment. 

2 When they had conquered the Athenians] At the conclusion of the Pelopon- 
nesian war. 

3 Damasippus] " He, in the consulship of Caius Marius the younger and 
Cneius Carbo, was city praetor, and put to death some of the most eminent sena- 
tors, a short time before the victory of Sylla. See Veil. Paterc. ii., 26." Bernovf. 






62 SALLTTST. 

c 

army at his command, some false accusation may be credited 
T as true ; and when, with our example for a precedent, the 

( consul shall have drawn the sword on the authority of the 

1 senate, who shall stay its progress, or moderate its fury ? 

] " Our ancestors, Conscript Fathers, were never deficient 

in conduct or courage; nor did pride prevent them from 
imitating the customs of other nations, if they appeared de- 
serving of regard. Their armour, and weapons of war, they 
borrowed from the Samnites ; their ensigns of authority 1 , for 
the most part, from the Etrurians ; and, in short, whatever 
appeared eligible to them, whether among allies or among 
enemies, they adopted at home with the greatest readiness, 
being more inclined to emulate merit than to be jealous of it. 
But at the same time, adopting a practice from Greece, they 
punished their citizens with the scourge, and inflicted capital 
punishment on such as were condemned. When the re- 
public, however, became powerful, and faction grew strong 
from the vast number of citizens, men began to involve the 
innocent in condemnation, and other like abuses were prac- 
tised ; and it was then that the Porcian and other laws were 
provided, by which condemned citizens were allowed to go 
into exile. This lenity of our ancestors, Conscript Fathers, 
I regard as a very strong reason why we should not adopt 
any new measures of severity. /For assuredly there was 
greater merit and wisdom in those, who raised so mighty an 
empire from humble means, than in us, who can scarcely 
preserve what they so honourably acquired. Am I of 
opinion, then, you will ask, that the conspirators should be 
set free, and that the army of Catiline should thus be in- 
creased? Far from it; my recommendation is, that their 
property be confiscated, and that they themselves be kept in 
custody in such of the municipal towns as are best able to 
bear the expense 3 ; that no one hereafter bring their case 

1 Ensigns of authority] Insignia magistratuum. " The fasces and axes of the 
twelve lictors, the robe adorned with purple, the curule chair, and the ivory 
sceptre. For the Etrurians, as Dionysius Halicarnassensis relates, having been 
subdued, in a nine years' war, by Tarquinius Priscus, and having obtained peace 
on condition of submitting to him as their sovereign, presented him with the in- 
signia of their own monarchs. See Strabo, lib. v. ; Florus, i., 5." Kuhnliardt. 

2 Best able to bear the expense] Maxime opibus valenL Are possessed of most 
resources. 



CONSPIBACY OF CATILIKE. 63 

before the senate, or speak on it to the people ; and that the 
senate now give their opinion, that he who shall act contrary 
to this, will act against the republic and the general 
safety 

EIL When Caesar had ended his speech, the rest briefly ex- 
pressed their assent 1 , some to one speaker, and some to another, 
in support of their different proposals ; but Marcius Porcius 
Cato, being asked his opinion, made a speech to the following 
purport : 

i; My feelings, Conscript Fathers, are extremely different 3 , 
when I contemplate our circumstances and dangers, and 
when I revolve in my mind the sentiments of some who have 
spoken before me. Those speakers, as it seems to me, have 
considered only how to punish the traitors who have raised 
war against their country, their parents, their altars, and their 
homes 3 ; but the state of affairs warns us rather to secure our- 

1 LII. The rest briefly expressed their assent, cfc] Cceteri verbo, alius alii, 
varie assentiebantur. Verbo assentiebantur signifies that they expressed their 
assent merely by a word or two, as assentior Silano, assentior Tiberio Xeroni, ant 
Ccesari, the three who had already spoken. Varie, " in support of then different 
proposals." 

- My feelings, Conscript Fathers, are extremely different, §c.~\ Longe mihi alia 
mens est, P. C, §c. The commencement of Cato's speech is evidently copied from 
the beginning of the third Olynthiac of Demosthenes : 'Oir^t ravra napicrTa- 
rat fJLOL yivaxTKeiv, d> avdpes AflrjvcuoL) orav re its ra irpa.yp.aTa drro- 
^Ae^o), Kal orav 7rpos tovs Xoyovs ovs clkoiko* tovs pev yap Xoyovs 
irepi tov TipcoprjaacrBai Qiknnrov 6pco yuyvopivovs, ra de irpaypara its 
tovto 7Tpor)KOvra wore 07Tods prj TreiaropeOa dvrol rrporepov KaKcos 
CTKtyacrQai biov. " I am by no means affected in the same manner, Athe- 
nians, when I review the state of our affairs, and when I attend to those 
speakers who have now declared their sentiments. They insist that we should 
punish Philip ; but our affairs, situated as they now appear, warn us to guard 
against the dangers with which we ourselves are threatened." Leland. 

3 Their altars and their homes] Aris atque focis suis. a When arm and foci 
are joined, beware of supposing that they are to be distinguished as referring the 
one (am) to the public temples, and the other {foci) to private dwellings. 
* * * Both are to be understood of private houses, in which the ara belonged 
to the Dii Penates, and was placed in the impluvium in the inner part of the 
house ; theybctts was dedicated to the lares, and was in the hall." Ernesti, Clav. 
Cic, sub. v. Ara. Of the commentators on Sallust, Kritzius is, I believe, the only 
one who has concurred in this notion of Ernesti ; Langius and Dietsch (with 
Cortius) adhere to the common opinion that arai are the public altars. Dietsch 
refers, for a complete refutation of Ernesti, to G. A. B. Hertzberg de Diis Roma- 



64 SALLITST. 

3 

selves against them, than to take counsel as to what sentence 
r we should pass upon them. Other crimes you may punish 

c after they have been committed ; but as to this, unless you 

i prevent its commission, you will, when it has once taken 

i effect, in vain appeal to justice 1 . "When the city is taken, no 

i power is left to the vanquished. 

( " But, in the name of the immortal gods, I call upon you, 

1 who have always valued your mansions and villas, your statues 

] and pictures, at a higher price than the welfare of your coun- 

try ; if you wish to preserve those possessions, of whatever 
1 kind they are, to which you are attached ; if you wish to 

j secure quiet for the enjoyment of your pleasures, arouse 

yourselves, and act in defence of your country. We are not 
now debating on the revenues, or on injuries done to our 
j allies, but our liberty and our life is at stake. 

1 " Often, Conscript Fathers, have I spoken at great length 

i in this assembly ; often have I complained of the luxury and 

avarice of our citizens, and, by that very means, have incurred 
the displeasure of many. I, who never excused to myself, or 
to my own conscience, the commission of any fault, could 
not easily pardon the misconduct 2 , or indulge the licentious- 
ness, of others. But though you little regarded my remon- 
strances, yet the republic remained secure ; its own strength 3 
was proof against your remissness. The question, however, 
at present under discussion, is not whether we live in a good 
or bad state of morals ; nor how great, or how splendid, the 
empire of the Roman people is ; but whether these things 

novum Penatibus, Hala?, 1840, p. 64; a book which I have not seen. Certainly, in 
the observation of Cicero ad Att., vii., 11," Non est respublica in parietibus, sed in 
aris et focis," arcs must be considered (as Schiller observes) to denote the public 
altars and national religion. See Schiller's Lex. v. Ara. 

1 In vain appeal to justice] Frustra judicia implores. Judicia, trials, to pro- 
cure the inflictions of legal penalties. 

2 Could not easily pardon the misconduct , cfc] Hand facile alterius lubidini 
malefacta condonabam. " Could not easily forgive the licentiousness of another 
its evil deeds." 

3 Yet the republic remained secure ; its own strength, $c.~] Tamen respublica 
firma, opidentia neglegentiam tolerabat. This is Cortius's reading ; some editors, 
as Havercamp, Kritzius, and Dietsch, insert erat after firma. Whether ojmkntia 
is the nominative or ablative, is disputed. " Opidentia" says Allen, " casum 
sextum intellige, et repete respublica (ad tolerabat).'''' " Opidentia" says Kritzius, 
" melius nominativo capiendum videtur ; nam quvo sequuntur verba novam enun- 
ciation em efficiunt." I have preferred to take it as a nominative. 



I 



CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. 65 

around us, of whatever value they are, are to continue our 
own, or to fall, with ourselves, into the hands of the enemy. 

" In such a case, does any one talk to me of gentleness and 
compassion ? Eor some time past, it is true, we have lost 
the real names of things 1 ; for to lavish the property of others 
is called generosity, and audacity in wickedness is called 
heroism; and hence the state is reduced to the brink of 
ruin. But let those, who thus misname things, be liberal, 
since such is the practice, out of the property of our allies ; 
let them be merciful to the robbers of the treasury ; but let 
them not lavish our blood, and, whilst they spare a few 
criminals, bring destruction on all the guiltless. 

'" Caius Caesar, a short time ago, spoke in fair and elegant 
language 2 , before this assembly, on the subject of life and 
death ; considering as false, I suppose, what is told of the 
dead; that the bad, going a different way from the good, 
inhabit places gloomy, desolate, dreary, and full of horror. 
He accordingly proposed that the property of the conspirators 
should he confiscated, and themselves kept in custody in the 
municipal towns; fearing, ifc seems, that, if they remain at 
Rome, they may be rescued either by their accomplices in 
the conspiracy, or by a hired mob ; as if, forsooth, the mis- 
chievous and profligate were to be found only in the city, 
and not through the whole of Italy, or as if desperate 
attempts would not be more likely to succeed where there 
is less power to resist them. His proposal, therefore, if he 
fears any danger from them, is absurd ; but if, amidst such 
universal terror, he alone is free from alarm, it the more 
concerns me to fear for you and myself. 

" Be assured, then, that when you decide on the fate of 
Lentulus and the other prisoners, you at the same time de- 

1 We have lost the real names of things, #c] Imitated from Thucydides, iii., 82: 
Kat T7]v iioaOvLav a£[(oo~iv tcdv ovofxarcov is tcl epya durrjWa^au rfj 
§iKai<h(T€i. Tok/Jia ytxej/ yap aXoytoros", dvhpia (pikeraipos ivofiicrOr}, 
fieWrjals re 7rpop.r)0r)s, deiXia ivTrp€7rr}s' to 8e ccotypov, tov avdvbpov 
7rpoo")(r)iia, kcli to TTpbs airav arvvcTov, cVt irdv dpyov. " The ordinary 
meaning of words was changed by them as they thought proper. For reckless 
daring was regarded as courage that was true to its friends; prudent delay, ns 
specious cowardice ; moderation, as a cloak for unmanliness ; being intelligent in 
everything, as being useful for nothing." Bale's Translation : Bohn's Classical 
Library. 

2 Elegant language] Composite. See above, c. 51. 

F 



66 SALLTTST. 

3' 

termine that of the army of Catiline, and of all the con- 
n spirators. The more spirit you display in your decision, the 

c more will their confidence be diminished ; but if they shall 

r< perceive you in the smallest degree irresolute, they will ad- 

p vance upon you with fury. 

ii B Do not suppose that our ancestors, from so small a com- 

c mencement, raised the republic to greatness merely by force 

1- of arms. If such had been the case, we should enjoy it in a 

I most excellent condition 1 ; for of allies and citizens 2 , as well 

as arms and horses, we have a much greater abundance than 
t they had. But there were other things which made them 

c great, but which among us have no existence ; such as in- 

] dustry at home, equitable government abroad, and minds 

impartial in council, uninfluenced by any immoral or im- 
proper feeling. Instead of such virtues, we have luxury and 
1 avarice; public distress, and private superfluity; we extol 

c wealth, and yield to indolence; no distinction is made be- 

1 tween good men and bad ; and ambition usurps the honours 

< due to virtue. / INor is this wonderful ; since you study each 

his individual interest, and since at home you are slaves to 
pleasure, and here to money or favour ; and hence it happens 
that an attack is made on the defenceless state. 

"But on these subjects I shall say no more. Certain 
citizens, of the highest rank, have conspired to ruin their 
country ; they are engaging the Gauls, the bitterest foes of 
the Boman name, to join in a war against us ; the leader of 
the enemy is ready to make a descent upon us ; and- do you 
hesitate, even in such circumstances, how to treat armed 
incendiaries arrested within your walls ? I advise you to 
have mercy upon them 3 ; they are young men who have been 
led astray by ambition ; send fchem away, even with arms in 
their hands. But such mercy, and such clemency, if they 
turn those arms against you, will end in misery to yourselves. 
The case is, assuredly, dangerous, but you do not fear it; 
yes, you fear it greatly, but you hesitate how to act, through 
weakness and want of spirit, waiting one for another, and 









1 In a most excellent condition] Multo pulcherrumam. See c. 36. 

2 For of allies and citizens, <f-c] Imitated from Demosthenes, Philipp. iii., 4. 

3 I advise you to have mercy upon them] Misereamini censeo, i. e. censeo lit 
misereamini, spoken ironically. Most translators have taken the words in the 
sense of " You would take pity on them, I suppose," or something similar. 



CONSPIKACY OF CATILINE. 67 

trusting to the immortal gods, who have so often preserved 
your country in the greatest dangers. But the protection of 
the gods is not obtained by vows and effeminate supplica- 
tions ; it is by vigilance, activity, and prudent measures, that 
general welfare is secured. When you are once resigned to 
sloth and indolence, it is in vain that you implore the gods ; 
for they are then indignant and threaten vengeance. 

" In the days of our forefathers, Titus Manlius Torquatus, 
during a war with the Gauls, ordered his own son to be put 
to death, because he had fought with an enemy contrary to 
orders. That noble youth suffered for excess of bravery ; 
and do you hesitate what sentence to pass on the most 
inhuman of traitors ? Perhaps their former life is at vari- 
ance with their present crime. Spare, then, the dignity of 
Lentulus, if he has ever spared his own honour or character, 
or had any regard for gods or for men. Pardon the youth of 
Cethegus, unless this be the second time that he has made 
war upon his country 1 . As to Gabinius, Statilius, Cceparius, 
why should I make any remark upon them ? Had they ever 
possessed the smallest share of discretion, they would never 
have engaged in such a plot against their country. 

" In conclusion, Conscript Fathers, if there were time to 
amend an error, I might easily suffer you, since you disre- 
gard words, to be corrected by experience of consequences. 
But we are beset by dangers on all sides ; Catiline, with his 
army, is ready to devour us 3 ; whilst there are other enemies 
within the walls, and in the heart of the city ; nor can any 
measures be taken, or any plans arranged, without their 
knowledge. The more necessary is it, therefore, to act with 
promptitude. "What I advise, then, is this : that since the 

1 Unless this be the second time that he has made war upon his country] 
" Cethegus first made war on his country in conjunction with Marius." Burnouf. 
Whether Sallust alludes to this, or intimates (as Gerlach thinks) that he was 
engaged in the first conspiracy, is doubtful. 

2 Is ready to devour us] Faucibus urget. Cortius, Kritzius, Gerlach, Bur- 
nouf, Allen, and Dietsch, are unanimous in interpreting this as a metaphorical 
expression, alluding to a wild beast with open jaws ready to spring upon its prey. 
They support this interpretation by Val. Max. v., 3: "Faucibus apprehensam 
rempublicam ;" Cic. pro. Cluent., 31: " Quum faucibus premetur;" and Plaut. 
Casin. v., 3, 4 : " Manifesto faucibus teneor." Some editors have read in faucibus, 
and understood the words as referring to the jaws or narrow passes of Etruria, 
where Catiline was with his army. 

j?2 



3( 



SALLTJST. 



state, by "a treasonable combination oi abandoned citizens, 
m lias been brought into tbe greatest peril ; and since the con* 

C( spirators have been convicted on the evidence of Titus Vol- 

r( turcius, and the deputies of the Allobroges, and on their own 

confession, of having concerted massacres, conflagrations, and 
11 other horrible and cruel outrages, against their fellow-citizens 

^ and their country, punishment be inflicted, according to the 

usage of our ancestors, on the prisoners who have confessed 
P \ their guilt, as on men convicted of capital crimes." 

V LIII. When Cato had resumed his seat, all the senators 

of consular dignity, and a great part of the rest 1 , applauded 

his opinion, and extolled his firmness of mind to the skies. 

With mutual reproaches, they accused one another of timidity, 

while Cato was regarded as the greatest and noblest of men ; 



1 

: and a decree of the senate was made as he had advised. 

C 

b 

c 

( 
1 


















After reading and hearing of the many glorious achieve- 
ments which the Roman people had performed at home and 
in the field, by sea as well as by land, I happened to be led 
to consider what had been the great foundation of such illus- 
trious deeds. I knew that the Eomans had frequently, with 
small bodies of men, encountered vast armies of the enemy ; 
I was aware that they had carried on wars 3 with limited 
forces against powerful sovereigns ; that they had often sus- 
tained, too, the violence of adverse fortune ; yet that, while 
the Greeks excelled them in eloquence, the Gauls surpassed 
them in military glory. After much reflection, I felt con- 
vinced that the eminent virtue of a few citizens had been the 
cause of all these successes ; and hence it had happened that 
poverty had triumphed over riches, and a few over a multi- 
tude. And even in later times, when the state had become 
corrupted by luxury and indolence, the republic still supported 
itself, by its own strength, under the misconduct of its 
generals and magistrates ; when, as if the parent stock were 
exhausted 8 , there was certainly not produced at Rome, for 

1 LIII. All the senators of consular dignity, and a great part of the rest] Con- 
sulares omnes, itemque senatus magna pars. " As the consulars were senators, 
the reader would perhaps expect Sallust to have said reliqui senatus, but itemque 
is equivalent to ctprceter eos." Dietsch. 

2 That they had carried on wars] Bella gesta. That wars had been carried on 
by them. 

3 As if the parent stock were exhausted] Sicuti effceta parentutn. This is the 



CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. 69 

many years, a single citizen of eminent ability. Within my 
recollection, however, there arose two men of remarkable 
powers, though of very different character, Marcus Cato and 
Caius Caesar, whom, since the subject has brought them 
before me, it is not my intention to pass in silence, but to 
describe, to the best of my ability, the disposition and man- 
ners of each. 

LIT. Their birth, age, and eloquence, were nearly on an 
equality ; their greatness of mind similar, as was also their 
reputation, though attained by different means 1 . Caesar grew 
eminent by generosity and munificence ; Cato by the inte- 
grity of his life. Caesar was esteemed for his humanity and 
benevolence; austereness had given dignity to Cato. Caesar 
acquired renown by giving, relieving, and pardoning ; Cato 
by bestowing nothing. In Caesar, there was a refuge for the 
unfortunate ; in Cato, destruction for the bad. In Caesar, 
his easiness of temper was admired ; in Cato, his firmness. 

reading of Cortius, which he endeavours to explain thus : " Ac sicuti effazta 
parens, inter parentes, sese hater e solet, ut nullos amplius liberos proferat, sic 
Roma sese habuit, ubi multis tempestatibus nemo virtute magnus fait." " Est" 
he adds, " or solet esse, or sese habere solet, may very well be understood from 
the fuit which follows.*' Bat all this only serves to show what a critic may find 
to say in defence of a reading to which he is determined to adhere. All the MSS., 
indeed, have parentum, except one, which has parente. Dietsch think that some 
word has been lost between ejfozta and parentum, and proposes to read sicuti effazta 
astute parentum, with the sense, as if the age of the parents were too much ex- 
hausted to produce strong children. Kritzius, from a suggestion of Cortius (or 
rather of his predecessor, Rupertus), reads effastce parentum (the effcetse agreeing 
with Romce which follows), considering the sense to be the same as effcetce parentis 
— as divina dearum for divina dea, $c. Gerlach retains the reading of Cortius, and 
adopts his explanation (4to. ed., 1827), but says that the explicatio may seem 
durior, and that it is doubtful whether we ought not to have recourse to the 
effazta parente of the old critics. Assuredly if we retain parentum, effoztce is the 
only reading that we can well put with it. We may compare with it loca ?iuda 
gignentium, (Jug. c. 79), i. e. "places bare of objects producing anything." Gro- 
novius knew not what to do with the passage, called it locus intellectus nemini, 
and at last decided on understanding virtute with effoztce parentum, which, pace 
tanti viri, and though Allen has followed him, is little better than folly. The 
concurrence of the majority of manuscripts in giving parentum makes the scholar 
unwilling to set it aside. However, as no one has explained it satisfactorily even 
to himself, I have thought it better, with Dietsch, to regard it a scriptura non 
ferenda, and to acquiesce, with Glareanus, Eivius, Burnouf, and the Bipont edi- 
tion, in the reading effazta parente. 

1 LIV. Though attained by different means] Sed alia alii. " Alii alia gloria," 
for altera alteri. So Livy, i., 21 : Duo reges, alius alia via. 



30 



70 SALLUST. 



m 

CO 

re 



Caesar, in fine, had applied himself to a life of energy and 
activity; intent upon the interests of his friends, he was 
neglectful of his own ; he refused nothing to others that was 
" worthy of acceptance, while for himself he desired great 

^ power, the command of an army, and a new war in which 

cc his talents might be displayed. But Cato's ambition was 

] 12 that of temperance, discretion, and, above all, of austerity ; 

p-i he did not contend in splendour with the rich, or in faction 

with the seditious, but with the brave in fortitude, with the 
-j- l modest in simplicity 1 , with the temperate 2 in abstinence ; he 

ai was more desirous to be, than to appear, virtuous ; and thus, 

p the less he courted popularity, the more it pursued him. 

1 € LV. When the senate, as I have stated, had gone over to 

^ t the opinion of Cato, the consul, thinking it best not to wait 

^ ( till night, which was coming on, lest any new attempts 

C] should be made during the interval, ordered the triumvirs 3 to 

^ make such preparations as the execution of the conspirators 

c ; required. He himself, having posted the necessary guards, 

conducted Lentulus to the prison ; and the same office was 

1 performed for the rest by the praetors. 

r There is a place in the prison, which is called the Tullian 

dungeon 4 , and which, after a slight ascent to the left, is sunk 
about twelve feet under ground. Walls secure it on every 
g side, and over it is a vaulted roof connected with stone 

I arches 5 ; but its appearance is disgusting and horrible, by 

1 Simplicity] Pudore. The word here seems to mean the absence of display 
( and ostentation. 

( 2 With the temperate] Cum innocente. " That is cum integro et abstinente. For 

i innocentia is used for abstinentia, and opposed to avaritia. See Cic. pro Lege 

Manil., c. 13." Burnouf. 

3 LY. The triumvirs] Triumviros. The triumviri capitales, who had the 
charge of the prison and of the punishment of the condemned. They performed 
their office by deputy, Val. Max., v., 4, 7. 

4 The Tullian dungeon] Tullianum. " Tullianum" is an adjective, with which 
robur must be understood, as it was originally constructed, wholly or partially, 
with oak. See Festus, sub voce Robum or Robur : his words are arcis robustis 
includtbatur, of which the sense is not very clear. The prison at Rome was built 
by Ancus Marcius, and enlarged by Servius Tullius, from whom this part of it 
had its name ; Varro de L. L., iv., 33. It is now transformed into a subterranean 
chapel, beneath a small church erected over it, called San Pietro in Carcere. De 
Brosses and Eustace both visited it ; See Eustace's Classical Tour, vol. i., p. 260, 
in the Family Library. See also Wasse's note on this passage. 

5 A vaulted roof connected with stone arches] Camera lapideis Jbrnicibus vincta* 



C 



I 



CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. 71 

reason of the filth, darkness, and stench. When Lentulus 
had been let down into this place, certain men, to whom 
orders had been given 1 , strangled him with a cord. Thus this 
patrician, who was of the illustrious family of the Cornelii, 
and who had filled the office of consul at Home, met with an 
end suited to his character and conduct. On Cethegus, 
Statilius, G-abinius, and Cceparius, punishment was inflicted 
in a similar manner. 

LYI. | During these proceedings at Borne, Catiline, out of 
the entire force which he himself had brought with him, and 
that which Manlius had previously collected, formed two 
legions, filling up the cohorts as far as his numbers would 
allow 2 ; and afterwards, as any volunteers, or recruits from his 
confederates 3 , arrived in his camp, he distributed them equally 
throughout the cohorts, and thus filled up his legions, in a 
short time, with their regular number of men, though at first 
he had not had more than two thousand. But, of his whole 
army, only about a fourth part had the proper weapons of 
soldiers; the rest, as chance had equipped them, carried 
darts, spears, or sharpened stakes. 

As Antonius approached with his army, Catiline directed 

••"That camera was a roof curved in the form of a testudo, is generally admitted ; 
see Vitruv. vii., 3 ; Varr., R. R. iii., 7, init." Dietsch. The roof is now arched in 
the usual way. 

1 Certain men, to whom orders had been given] Quihus prceceptum erat. The 
editions of Havercamp, Gerlach, Kritzius, and Dietsch, have vindices rerum capi- 
talium, qitibus, #c. Cortius ejected the first three words from his text, as an in- 
truded gloss. If the words be genuine, we must consider these vindices to have 
been the deputies, or lictors, of the " triumvirs'' mentioned above. 

- LVI. As far as his numbers would allow] Pro numero militum. He formed 
his men into two bodies, which he called legions, and divided each legion, as was 
usual, into ten cohorts, putting into each cohort as many men as he could. The 
cohort of a full legion consisted of three maniples, or six hundred men ; the legion 
would then be six thousand men. But the legions were seldom so large as this ; 
they varied at different periods, from six thousand to three thousand ; in the time 
of Polybius they were usually four thousand two hundred. See Adam's Rom. 
Ant., and Lipsius de Mil. Rom. Dial. iv. 

3 From his confederates] Ex sociis. "Understand, not only the leaders in the 
conspiracy, but those who, in c. 35, are said to have set out to join Catiline, 
though not at that time actually implicated in the plot." Kritzius. It is neces- 
sary to notice this, because Cortius erroneously supposes "sociis" to mean the 
allies of Rome. Dahl, Longius, Miiller, Burnouf, Gerlach, and Dietsch, all inter- 
pret in the same manuer as Kritzius. 



72 SALLUST. 

his march over the hills, encamping, at one time, in the 
direction of Borne, at another in that of Gaul. He gave the 
enemy no opportunity of fighting, yet hoped himself shortly to 
find one 1 , if his accomplices at Rome should succeed in their 
objects. Slaves, meanwhile, of whom vast numbers 3 had at 
first flocked to him, he continued to reject, not only as de- 
pending on the strength of the conspiracy, but as thinking 
it impolitic 3 to appear to share the cause of citizens with 
runagates. 

LVII. "When it was reported in his camp, however, that 
the conspiracy had been discovered at Rome, and that Len- 
tulus, Cethegus, and the rest whom I have named, had been 
put to death, most of those whom the hope of plunder, or the 
love of change, had led to join in the war, fell away. The 
remainder Catiline conducted, over rugged mountains, and 
by forced marches, into the neighbourhood of Pistoria, with 
a view to escape covertly, by cross roads, into Graul. 

Eut Quintus Metellus Celer, with a force of three legions, 
had, at that time, his station in Picenum, who suspected that 
Catiline, from the difficulties of his position, would adopt 
precisely the course which we have just described. When, 
therefore, he had learned his route from some deserters, he 
immediately broke up his camp, and took his post at the very 
foot of the hills, at the point where Catiline's descent would 
be, in his hurried march into Graul 4 . Nor was Antonius far 

1 Hoped himself shortly to find one] Sperabat propediem sesehabiturum. Other 
editions, as those of Havercamp, Gerlacb, Kritzius, Dietsch, and Burnouf, have 
the words magnas copias before sese. Cortius struck them out, observing that 
copies occurred too often in this chapter, and that in one MS. they were wanting. 
One manuscript, however, was insufficient authority for discarding them ; and the 
phrase suits much better with what follows, si Romce socii incepta patravissent, 
if they are retained. 

2 Slaves — of whom vast numbers, <$c.~\ Servitia — cujus — magna copia 3 . 
" Cujus" says Priscian (xvii., 20, vol. ii., p. 81, ed. Krehl), " is referred ad rem, 
that is, cujus rei servitiorum" Servorum or hominum genus, is, perhaps, rather 
what Sallust had in his mind, as the subject of the relation. Gerlach adduces 
as an expression most nearly approaching to Sallust's, Thucyd., iii., 92; Ka\ 
Acopuis, 7] p.r)rp67ro\is t<ov AaKebaifAovtcov. 

3 Impolitic'] Alienum suis ratlonibus. Foreign to his views ; inconsistent with 
his policy. 

4 LVII. In his hurried march into Gaul] In Galliam properanti. These words 
Cortius inclosed in brackets, pronouncing them a useless gloss. But all editors 
have retained them as genuine, except the Bipont and Burnouf, who wholly 
omitted them. 



CONSPIRACY OE C ATILIKE. 73 

distant, as lie was pursuing, though with a large army, yet 
through plainer ground, and with fewer hindrances, the 
enemy in retreat 1 . 

Catiline, when he saw that he was surrounded by moun- 
tains and by hostile forces, that his schemes in the city had 
been unsuccessful, and that there was no hope either of 
escape or of succour, thinking it best, in such circumstances, 
to try the fortune of a battle, resolved upon engaging, as 
speedily as possible, with Antonius. Having, therefore, as- 
sembled his troops, he addressed them in the following 
manner : 

LVIII. "I am well aware, soldiers, that words cannot 
inspire courage ; and that a spiritless army cannot be ren- 
dered active 2 , or a timid army valiant, by the speech of its 
commander. Whatever courage is in the heart of a man, 
whether from nature or from habit, so much will be shown 
by him in the field ; and on him whom neither glory nor 
danger can move, exhortation is bestowed in vain ; for the 
terror in his breast stops his ears. 

" I have called you together, however, to give you a few 
instructions, and to explain to you, at the same time, my rea- 
sons for the course which I have adopted. Tou all know, 

1 As he was pursuing, though with a large army, yet through plainer ground, 
and with fewer hindrances, the enemy in retreat] Utpote qui magno exercitu, 
locis cequioribus, expeditus, in fuga sequeretur. It would be tedious to notice all 
that has been written upon this passage of Sallust. All the editions, before that 
of Gortius, had expedites infugam, some joining expedites with locis cequioribus, 
and some with infugam. Expedites infugam was first condemned by Wasse, no 
negligent observer of phrases, who said that no expression parallel to it could be 
found in any Latin writer. Cortius, seeing that the expedition, of which Sallust 
is speaking, is on the part of Antonius, not of Catiline, altered expedites, though 
found in all the manuscripts, into expeditus; and infugam, at the same time, into 
infugd ; and in both these emendations he has been cordially followed by the sub- 
sequent editors, Gerlach, Kritzius, andDietsch. I have translated magno exercitu, 
" though with a large army," although, according to Dietsch and some others, we 
need not consider a large army as a cause of slowness, but may rather regard it 
as a cause of speed ; since the more numerous were Metellus's forces, the less he 
would care how many he might leave behind through fatigue, or to guard the 
baggage ; so that he might be the more expeditus, unincumbered. With sequere- 
tur we must understand kostes. The Bipont, Burnouf 's,' ; which often follows it, 
and Havercamp's, are now the only editions of any note that retain expedites in 
fugam. 

2 LVIII. That a spiritless army cannot be rendered active, cfc.~\ Neque ex ig- 
navo strenuum, neque fortem ex timido exercitum oratione imperatoris fieri. I 
have departed a little from the literal reading, for the sake of ease* 



74 SALLUST. 

soldiers, how severe a penalty the inactivity and cowardice of 
Lentulus has brought upon himself and us ; and how, while 
waiting for reinforcements from the city, I was unable to 
march into Gaul. In what situation our aifairs now are, 
you all understand as well as myself. Two armies of the 
enemy, one on the side of Rome, and the other on that of 
Gaul, oppose our progress ; while the want of corn, and of 
other necessaries, prevents us from remaining, however 
strongly we may desire to remain, in our present position. 
"Whithersoever we would go, we must open a passage with 
our swords. I conjure you, therefore, to maintain a brave 
and resolute spirit ; and to remember, when you advance to 
battle, that on your own right hands depend 1 riches, honour, 
and glory, with the enjoyment of your liberty and of your 
country. If we conquer, all will be safe ; we shall have pro- 
visions in abundance ; and the colonies and corporate towns 
will open their gates to us. But if we lose the victory 
through want of courage, those same places 2 will turn against 
us ; for neither place nor friend will protect him whom his 
arms have not protected. Besides, soldiers, the same exigency 
does not press upon our adversaries, as presses upon us ; we 
fight for our country, for our liberty, for our life ; they con- 
tend for what but little concerns them 3 , the power of a small 
party. Attack them, therefore, with so much the greater 
confidence, and call to mind your achievements of old. 

" We might 4 , with the utmost ignominy, have passed the 
rest of our days in exile. Some of you, after losing your 
property, might have waited at Rome for assistance from 
others. But because such a life, to men of spirit, was dis- 
gusting and unendurable, you resolved upon your present 
course. If you wish to quit it, you must exert all your re- 
solution, for none but conquerors have exchanged war for 
peace. To hope for safety in flight, when you have turned 
away from the enemy the arms by which the body is defended, 

1 That on your own right hands depend, tj*c] In dextris portare. " That you 
carry in your right hands." 

2 Those same places] Eadem ilia. " Colonise atque municipia portas claudent." 
Burnouf. 

3 They contend for what but little concerns them] Illls supervacaneum estptig- 
nare. It is but of little concern to the great body of them personally : they may 
fight, but others will have the advantages of their efforts. 

4 We might, cfc. ] Licuit nobis. The editions vary between nobis and vobis ; 
but most, with Cortius, have nobis. 



CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. 75 

is indeed madness. In battle, those who are most afraid are 
always in most danger; but courage is equivalent to a rampart. 

" When I contemplate you, soldiers, and when I consider 
your past exploits, a strong hope of victory animates me. 
Tour spirit, your age, your valour, give me confidence ; to 
say nothing of necessity, which makes even cowards brave. 
To prevent the numbers of the enemy from surrounding us, 
our confined situation is sufficient. But should Fortune be 
unjust to your valour, take care not to lose your lives un- 
avenged ; take care not to be taken and butchered like cattle, 
rather than, fighting like men, to leave to your enemies a 
bloody and mournful victory." 

LIX. When he had thus spoken, he ordered, after a short 
delay, the signal for battle to be sounded, and led down his 
troops, in regular order, to the level ground. Having then 
sent away the horses of all the cavalry, in order to increase 
the men's courage by making their danger equal, he himself, 
on foot, drew up his troops suitably to their numbers and the 
nature of the ground. As a plain stretched between the 
mountains on the left, with a rugged rock on the right, he 
placed eight cohorts in front, and stationed the rest of his 
force, in close order, in the rear 1 . From among these he re- 
moved all the ablest centurions 2 , the veterans 3 , and the stoutest 

1 LIX. In the rear] In subsidio. Most translators have rendered this, " as a body 
of reserve ;" but such cannot well be the signification. It seems only to mean the 
part behind the front : Catiline places the eight cohorts in front, and the rest of 
his force in subsidio, to support the front. Subsidia, according to Varro (de L. L., 
iv., 16) and Festus (v. Subsidiwni) , was a term applied to the Triarii, because 
they subsidebant, or sunk down on one knee, until it was their turn to act. See 
Scheller's Lex. v. Subsidium. " Novissimi ordines ita dicuntur." Gerlach. In 
subsidies, which occurs a few lines below, seems to signify in lines in the rear ; 
as in Jug. 49, triplicibus subsidiis aciem intruxit, i. e. with three lines behind the 

front. " Subsidium ea pars aciei vocabatur qua? reliquis submitti posset; Cses. 
B. G., ii., 25." Dietsch. 

2 All the ablest centurions] Centuriones omnes lectos. " Lectos you may con- 
sider to be the same as eximios, prcestantes, centurionum prasstantissimum 
quemque." Kritzius. Cortius and others take it for a participle, chosen. 

3 Veterans] Evocaios. Some would make this also a participle, because, say 
they, it cannot signify evocati, or called-out veterans, since, though there were such 
soldiers in a regular Roman army, there could be none so called in the tumultuary 
forces of Catiline. But to this it is answered that Catiline had imitated the 
regular disposition of a Roman army, and that his veterans might consequently 
be called evocati, just as if they had been in one ; and, also that evocatus as a 
participle would be useless ; for if Catiline removed (subducit) the centurions, it 
is unnecessary to add that he called them out. " JEvocati erant, qui expletis sti- 



76 SALLTTST. 

of the common soldiers that were regularly armed," into the 
foremost ranks 1 . He ordered Cains Manlius to take the 
command on the right, and a certain officer of l^sesulae 2 on the 
left ; while he himself, with his freedmen 3 and the colonists 4 , 
took his station by the eagle 5 , which Caius Marins was said 
to f Jhave had in his army in the Cimbrian war. 

On the other side, Caius Antonius, who, being lame 6 , was 
unable to be present in the engagement, gave the command 
of the army to Marcus Petreius, his lieutenant-general. Pe- 
treius ranged the cohorts of veterans, which he had raised to 
meet the present insurrection 7 , in front, and behind them the 

pendiis non poterant in delectu scribi, sed precibus imperatoris permoti, aut in 
gratiam ejus, militiam resumebant, homines longo usu militia? peritissimi. Dio. 
xlv., p. 276. *E/c tovtoov de t<dv dvdpcou kgu to r<bv 'HovoKarcov rj 
: Ovokcltcov av(rT7]iia (ovs Avai<\r)Tovs av t\s 'EXX^zuVa?, on irenav 
fievoL tt)S <TTpaT€Las> eV avrrjv avOis dveKkrjSrjcravj dvop.do~€i€v) 
evofilo-Qrj, Intelligit itaque ejusmodi homines veteranos, etsi non proprie erant 
tales evocati, sed sponte castra Catilina? essent secuti." Cortlus. 

1 Into the foremost ranks] In primam aciem. Whether Sallust means that 
he ranged them with the eight cohorts, or only in the first line of the subsidia, 
is not clear. 

2 A certain officer of FaBsulas] Fcesulcmum quemdam. " He is thought to have 
been that P. Furius, whom Cicero (Cat, hi., 6, 14) mentions as having been 
one of the colonists that Sylla settled at Faesulse, and who was to have been 
executed, if he had been apprehended, for having been concerned in corrupting 
the Allobrogian deputies." Dietsch. Pmtarch calls this officer Furius. 

3 His freedmen] Libertis. "His own freedmen, whom he probably had about 
him as a body-guard, deeming them the most attached of his adherents. Among 
them was, possibly, that Sergius, whom we find from Cic. pro Domo, 5, 6, to have 
been Catiline's armour-bearer." Dietsch. 

4 The colonists] Colonis. "Veterans of Sylla, who had been settled by him 
as colonists in Etruria, and who had now been induced to join Catiline." Ger- 
lack. See c. 28. 

5 By the eagle] Propter aquilam. See Cic. in Cat., i., 9. 

6 Being lame] Pedibas ceger. It has been common among translators to render 
pedibus ceger afflicted with the gout, though a Roman might surely be lame with- 
out having the gout. As the lameness of Antonius, however, according to Dion 
Cassius (xxxvii., 39), was only pretended, it may be thought more probable that 
he counterfeited the gout than any other malady. It was with this belief, I sup- 
pose, that the writer of a gloss on one of the manuscripts consulted by Cortius, 
interpreted the words, idtroneam passus est podagram, "he was affected with a 
voluntary gout." Dion Cassius says that he preferred engaging with Antonius, 
who had the larger army, rather than with Metellus, who had the smaller, 
because he hoped that Antonius would designedly act in such a way as to lose 
the victory. 

7 To meet the present insurrection] Tumulti causa. Any sudden war or in- 
surrection in Italy or Gaul was called tumultus. See Cic. Philipp., v., 12. 



CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. 77 

rest of his force in lines. Then, riding round among his 
troops, and addressing his men by name, he encouraged 
them, and bade them remember that they were to fight 
against unarmed marauders, in defence of their country, 
their children, their temples, and their homes 1 . Being a 
military man, and having served with great reputation, for 
more than thirty years, as tribune, praefect, lieutenant, or 
praetor, he knew most of the soldiers and their honourable 
actions, and, by calling these to their remembrance, roused 
the spirits of the men. 

LX. When he had made a complete survey, he gave the 
signal with the trumpet, and ordered the cohorts to advance 
slowly. The army of the enemy followed his example ; and 
when they approached so near that the action could be com- 
menced by the light-armed troops, both sides, with a loud 
shout, rushed together in a furious charge 3 . They threw 
aside their missiles, and fought only with their swords. The 
veterans, calling to mind their deeds of old, engaged fiercely 
in the closest combat. The enemy made an obstinate re- 
sistance; and both sides contended with the utmost fury. 
Catiline, during this time, was exerting himself with his light 
troops in the front, sustaining such as were pressed, sub- 
stituting fresh men for the wounded, attending to every 
exigency, charging in person, wounding many an enemy, 
and performing at once the duties of a valiant soldier and a 
skilful general. 

"When Petreius, contrary to his expectation, found Catiline 
attacking him with such impetuosity, he led his praetorian 
cohort against the centre of the enemy, amongst whom, 
being thus thrown into confusion, and offering but partial re- 
sistance 3 , he made great slaughter, and ordered, at the same 
time, an assault on both flanks. Manlius and the Faesulan, 
sword in hand, were among the first 4 that fell ; and Catiline, 
when he saw his army routed, and himself left with but few 
supporters, remembering his birth and former dignity, rushed 
into the thickest of the enemy, where he was slain, fighting 
to the last. 

1 Their temples and their homes] Aris atquefocis suis. See c. 52. 

2 LX. In a furious charge] Infestis signis. 

3 Offering hut partial resistance] Alios alibi resistentes. Not making a stand 
in a body, but only some in one place, and some in another. 

4 Among the first, <$•&] Inprimis pugnantes cadunt. Cortius very properly 
refers in primis to cadunt. 



78 SALLUST. 

LXL VWhen the battle was over, it was plainly seen what 
boldness, and what energy of spirit, had prevailed throughout 
the army of Catiline ; for, almost everywhere, every soldier, 
after yielding up his breath, covered with his corpse the spot 
which he had occupied when alive. A few, indeed, whom 
the praetorian cohort had dispersed, had fallen somewhat 
differently, but all with wounds in front. Catiline himself 
was found, far in advance of his men, among the dead bodies 
of the enemy ; he was not quite breathless, and still expressed 
in his countenance the fierceness of spirit which he had shown 
during his life. Of his whole army, neither in the battle, 
nor in flight, was any free-born citizen made prisoner, for 
they had spared their own lives no more than those of the 
enemy. 

]N"or did the army of the Roman people obtain a joyful or 
bloodless victory ; for all their bravest men were either killed 
in the battle, or left the field severely wounded. 

Of many who went from the camp to view the ground, or 
plunder the slain, some, in turning over the bodies of the 
enemy, discovered a friend, others an acquaintance, others a 
relative ; some, too, recognised their enemies. Thus, glad- 
ness and sorrow, grief and joy, were variously felt throughout 
the whole army. 



CHRONOLOGY OF THE COISPffiACI OF CATILINE. 

EXTRACTED FROM DE BROSSES. 
A.U.C. 

685. Coss. L. C^cilitjs Metellus, Q. Maecius Rex. — 
Catiline is Praetor. 

686. — C. Calpueklus Piso, M. Acilius GtLabeio. — Cati- 
line Governor of Africa. 

687. — L. Volcatius Tullus, M. JEmilius Lepidus. — De- 
puties from Africa accuse Catiline of extortion, through, 
the agency of Clodius. He is obliged to desist from 
standing for the consulship, and forms the project of the 
first conspiracy. See Sail. Cat., c. 18. 

688. — L. Maistlius Toequatus, L. Aueelius Cotta. — 
Jan. 1: Catiline's project of the first conspiracy becomes 
known, and he defers the execution of it to the 5th of 
February, when he makes an unsuccessful attempt to 
execute it. July 17 : He is acquitted of extortion, and 
begins to canvass -for the consulship for the year 690. 

689. — L. Julius Cjbsae, C. Maecius Figulus Theemus. 
— June 1 : Catiline convokes the chiefs of the second 
conspiracy. He is disappointed in his views on the con- 
sulship. 

690. — M. Tullius Ciceeo, C. Antoetus Htbeida. — 
Oct. 19 : Cicero lays the affair of the conspiracy before 
the senate, who decree plenary powers to the consuls for 
defending the state. Oct. 21 : Silanus and Mursena are 
elected consuls for the next year, Catiline, who was a 
candidate, being rejected. Oct. 22 : Catiline is accused 
under the Plautian Law de vi. Sail. Cat., c. 31. 
Oct. 24 : Manlius takes up arms in Etruria. Nov. 6 : Ca- 
tiline assembles the chief conspirators, by the agency of 
Porcius Lseca. Sail. Cat., c. 27. Nov. 7 : Yargunteius 
and Cornelius undertake to assassinate Cicero. Sail. 
Cat., c. 28. Nov. 8 : Catiline appears in the senate ; 
Cicero delivers his first Oration against him ; he threatens 
to extinguish the flame raised around him in a general de- 
struction, and quits Rome. Sail. Cat., c. 31. Nov. 9 : 
Cicero delivers his second Oration against Catiline, before 



80 SALLTJST. 

A.U.C. 

an assembly of the people convoked by order of the 
senate. Nov. 20, or thereabouts : Catiline and Manlius 
are declared public enemies. Soon after this the conspi- 
rators attempt to secure the support of the Allobrogian 
deputies. Dec. 3 : About two o'clock in the morning 
the Allobroges are apprehended. Towards evening Ci- 
cero delivers his third Oration against Catiline, before 
the people. Dec. 5 : Cicero's fourth Oration against Ca- 
tiline, before the senate. Soon after, the conspirators 
are condemned to death, and great honours are decreed 
by the senate to Cicero. 
691.— D. Junius Silantts, L. Licinius Mttelzena.— Jan. 5_t 
Battle of Pistoria, and death of Catiline. 



The narrative of Sallust terminates with the account of the 
battle of Pistoria. There are a few other particulars con- 
nected with the history of the conspiracy, which, for the sake 
of the English reader, it may not be improper to add. 

"When the victory was gained, Antonius caused Catiline's 
head to be cut off, and sent it to Rome by the messengers 
who carried the news. Antonius himself was honoured, by a 
public decree, with the title of Imperator, although he had 
done little to merit the distinction, and although the number 
of slain, which was three thousand, was less than that for 
which the title was generally given. See Dio Cass, xxxvii., 
40, 41. 

The remains of Catiline's army, after the death of their 
leader, continued to make efforts to raise another insurrec- 
tion. In August, eight months after the battle, a party, 
under the command of Lucius Sergius, perhaps a relative or 
freedman of Catiline, still offered resistance to the forces of 
the government in Etruria. Heliqidce conjuratorum, cum L. 
Sergio, tumultuantur in Hetrurid. Eragm. Act. Diurn. The 
responsibility of watching these marauders was left to the 
proconsul Metellus Celer. After some petty encounters, in 
which the insurgents were generally worsted, Sergius, having 
collected his force at the foot of the Alps, attempted to pene- 
trate into the country of the Allobroges, expecting to find 
them ready to take up arms ; but Metellus, learning his inten- 
tion, pre-occupied the passes, and then surrounded and de- 
stroyed him and his followers. 



CHBOtfOLOGY OF THE CONSPIRACY. OF CATILINE. 81 

At Rome, in the mean time, great honours were paid to 
Cicero. A thanksgiving of thirty days was decreed in his 
name, an honour which had previously been granted to none 
but military men, and which was granted to him, to use his 
own words, because he had delivered the city from fire, the 
citizens from slaughter,* and Italy from war. u If my thanks- 
giving," he also observes, " be compared with those of others, 
there will be found this difference, that theirs were granted 
them for having managed the interests of the republic suc- 
cessfully, but that mine was decreed to me for having pre- 
served the republic from ruin." See Cic. Orat. iii., in Cat., 
c. 6. Pro Sylla, c. 30. In Pison. c. 3. Philipp. xiv., 8. 
Quintus Catulus, then princess senatus, and Marcus Cato, 
styled him, several times, the father of his country . 

Boma parentem, 
Eoma patrem patriae Ciceronem libera dixit. 

Juv. Sat. viii., 244, 

Of the inferior conspirators, who did not follow Sergius, 
and who were apprehended at Rome, or in other parts of 
Italy, after the death of the leaders in the plot, some were put 
to death, chiefly on the testimony of Lucius Vettius, one of 
their number, who turned informer against the rest. But 
many whom he accused were acquitted ; others, supposed to 
be guilty, were allowed to escape. 



THE JUGURTHINE WAR. 






THE ARGUMENT. 
The Introduction, I. — IV. The author's declaration of his design, and pre- 
fatory account of Jugurtha's family, V. Jugurtha's character, VI. His talents 
excite apprehensions in his uncle, Micipsa, VII. He is sent to Numantia. His 
merits, his favour with Scipio, and his popularity in the army, VIII. He re- 
ceives commendation and advice from Scipio, and is adopted by Micipsa, who 
resolves that Jugurtha, Adherbal, and Hiempsal, shall, at his death, divide his 
kingdom equally between them, IX. He is addressed by Micipsa on his death- 
bed, X. His proceedings, and those of Adherbal and Hiempsal, after the death 
of Micipsa, XL He murders Hiempsal, XII. He defeats Adherbal, and drives 
him for refuge to Rome. He dreads the vengeance of the senate, and sends am- 
bassadors to Rome, who are confronted with those of Adherbal in the senate- 
house, XIII. The speech of Adherbal, XIV. The reply of Jugurtha's ambas- 
sadors, and the opinions of the senators, XV. The prevalence of Jugurtha's 
money, and the partition of the kingdom between him and Adherbal, XVI. A 
description of Africa, XVII. An account of its inhabitants, and of its principal 
divisions at the commencement of the Jugurthine war, XVIIL, XIX. Jugur- 
tha invades Adherbal's part of the kingdom, XX. He defeats Adherbal, and 
besieges him in Cirta, XXL He frustrates the intentions of the Roman depu- 
ties, XXII. Adherbal's distresses, XXIII. His letter to the senate, XXIV. 
Jugurtha disappoints a second Roman deputation, XXV, He takes Cirta, and 
puts Adherbal to death, XXVI. The senate determine to make war upon him, 
and commit the management of it to Calpurnius, XXVII. He sends an in- 
effectual embassy to the senate. His dominions are vigorously invaded by Cal- 
purnius, XXVIII. He bribes Calpurnius, and makes a treaty with him, XXIX. 
His proceedings are discussed at Rome, XXX. The speech of Memmius con- 
cerning them, XXXI. The consequences of it, XXXII. The arrival of Jugur- 
tha at Rome, and his appearance before the people, XXXIIL, XXXIV. He 
procures the assassination of Massiva, and is ordered to quit Italy, XXXV. 
Albinus, the successor of Calpurnius, renews the war. He returns to Rome, 
and leaves his brother Aulus to command in his absence, XXXVI. Aulus 
miscarries in the siege of Suthul, and concludes a dishonourable treaty with 
Jugurtha, XXXVII. , XXXVIII. His treaty is annulled by the senate. His 
brother, Albinus, resumes the command, XXXIX. The people decree an in- 
quiry into the conduct of those who had treated with Jugurtha, XL. Con- 
sideration on the popular and senatorial factions, XLL, XLII. Metellus 
assumes the conduct of the war, XLIII. He finds the army in Numidia with- 






THE JTJGiniTHI^E WAR. S3 

out discipline, XLIV. He restores subordination, XLV. He rejects Jugurtha's 
offers of submission, bribes his deputies, and marches into the country, XL VI. 
He places a garrison in Vacca, and seduces other deputies of Jugurtha, XL VII. 
He engages with Jagurtha, and defeats him. His lieutenant, Rutilius, puts to 
flight Bomilcar, the general of Jugurtha, XLVIIL— LIII. He is threatened with 
new opposition. He lavs waste the country. His stragglers are cut off by 
Jugurtha, LIV. His merits are celebrated at Rome. His caution. His pro- 
gress retarded, LV. He commences the siege of Zama, which is reinforced by 
Jugurtha. His lieutenant, Marina, repulses Jugurtha at Sicca, LVI. He is 
joined by Marius, and prosecutes the siege. His camp is surprised, LVIL, 
LVIII. His struggles with Jugurtha, and his operations before the town, LIX., 
LX. He raises the siege, and goes into winter quarters. He attaches Bomilcar 
to his interest, LXI. He makes a treaty with Jugurtha, who breaks it, LXII. 
The ambition of Marius. His character. His desire of the consulship, LXIII. 
His animosity towards Metellus. His intrigues to supplant him, LXIV, LXV. 
The Vaccians surprise the Roman garrison, and kill all the Romans but Turpi- 
lius, the governor, LXVL, LXVII. Metellus recovers Vacca. and puts Turpi- 
lius to death, LXVIIL, LXIX. The conspiracy of Bomilcar and Nabdalsa 
against Jugurtha, and the discovery of it. Jugurtha's disquietude, LXX. — 
LXXII. Metellus makes preparations for a second campaign. Marius returns 
to Rome, and is chosen consul, and appointed to command the army inNumidia, 
LXXIII. Jugurtha's irresolution. Metellus defeats him, LXXIV. The 
flight of Jugurtha to Thala. The march of Metellus in pursuit of him, LXXV . 
Jugurtha abandons Thala, and Metellus takes possession of it, LXXVI. Me- 
tellus receives a deputation from Leptis, and sends a detachment thither, 
LXXVIL The situation of Leptis, LXXVIII. The history of the Philsmi. 
LXXIX. Jugurtha collects an army of Getulians, and gains the support of 
Bocchus, King of Mauritania. The two kings proceed towards Cirta, LXXX., 
LXXXI. Metellus marches against them, but hearing that Marius is appointed 
to succeed him, contents himself with endeavouring to alienate Bocchus from 
Jugurtha, and protracting the war rather than prosecuting it, LXXXII., 
LXXXIII. The preparations of Marius for his departure. His disposition to- 
wards the nobility. His popularity, LXXXIV. His speech to the people, 
LXXXV. He completes his levies, and arrives in Africa, LXXXVI. He opens 
the campaign, LXXXVIL The reception of Metellus in Rome. The suc- 
cesses and plans of Marius. The applications of Bocchus. LXXXVIII. Marius 
marches against Capsa, and takes it, LXXXIX. — XCI. He gains possession 
of a fortress which the Xumidians thought impregnable, XCII. — XCIV. The 
arrival of Sylla in the camp. His character, XCV. His arts to obtain the 
favour of Marius and the soldiers, XCVI. Jugurtha and Bocchus attack 
Marius, and are vigorously opposed, XCVIL, XCVQI. Marius surprises them 
in the night, and routs them with great slaughter, XCIX. Marius prepares to 
go into winter quarters. His vigilance, and maintenance of discipline, C. He 
fights a second battle with Jugurtha and Bocchus, and gains a second victory 
over them, CI. He arrives at Cirta. He receives a deputation from Bocchus, 
and sends Sylla and Manlius to confer with him, CII. Marius undertakes an 
expedition. Bocchus prepares to send ambassadors to Rome, who, being stripped 
by robbers, take refuge in the Roman camp, and are entertained bv Svlla during 

g2 



84 SALLXTST. 

the absence of Marius, €111. Marius returns. The ambassadors set out for 
Eome. The answer which they receive from the senate, CIV. Bocchus desires 
a conference with Sy 11a ; Sylla arrives at the camp of Bocchus, CV. — CVII. 
Negotiations between Sylla and Bocchus, CVIIL, CIX. The address of Bocchus 
to Sylla, CX. The reply of Sylla. The subsequent transactions between them. 
The resolution of Bocchus to betray Jugurtha, and the execution of it, CXI. — 
CXIII. The triumph of Marius, CXIV. 

__ — . . 

I." Mankind unreasonably complain of their nature, that, 
being weak and short-lived, it is governed by chance rather 
than intellectual power 1 ; for, on the contrary, you Avill find, 
upon reflection, that there is nothing more noble or excellent, 
and that to nature is wanting rather human industry than 
ability or time. 

The ruler and director of the life of man is the mind, 
which, when it pursues glory in the path of true merit, is 
sufficiently powerful, efficient, and worthy of honour 3 , and 
needs no assistance from fortune, who can neither bestow 
integrity, industry, or other good qualities, nor can take 
them away. But if the mind, ensnared by corrupt passions, 
abandons itself 3 to indolence and sensuality, when it has 
indulged for a season in pernicious gratifications, and when 
bodily strength, time, and mental vigour, have been wasted 
in sloth, the infirmity of nature is accused, and those who 
are themselves in fault impute their delinquency to circum- 
stances 4 . 

1 1. Intellectual power] Virtute. See the remarks on virtus, at the commence- 
ment of the Conspiracy of Catiline. A little below, I have rendered via virtutis, 
" the path of true merit." 

2 Worthy of honour] Clarus. " A person may be called claims either on ac- 
count of his great actions and merits ; or on account of some honour which he has 
obtained, as the consuls were called clarissimi viri ; or on account of great expec- 
tations which are formed from him. But since the worth of him who is clarus is 
known by all, it appears that the mind is here called clorus because its nature is 
such that pre-eminence is generally attributed to it, and the attention of all di- 
rected towards it." Dietsch. 

% Abandons itself] Pessum datvs est. Is altogether sunk and overwhelmed. 

4 Impute their delinquency to circumstances, <£*(?.] Suavi quisque culpam auctores 
ad negotia transferunt. Men excuse their indolence and inactivity, by saying that 
the weakness of their faculties, or the circumstances in which they are placed, 
render them unable to accomplish anything of importance. But, says Seneca, 
Satis natura hominideditroboins, si Mo utamur ;— -nolle in causa, non posse prce- 
tenditur. " Nature has given men sufficient powers, if they will but use them ; 



THE JUGUfrTHIKE WAK. 85 

If man, however, had as much regard for worthy objects, as 
he has spirit in the pursuit of what is useless 1 , unprofitable, 
and even perilous, he would not be governed by circum- 
stances more than he would govern them, and would attain 
to a point of greatness, at which, instead of being mortal 3 , 
he would be immortalised by glory. 

II. As man is composed of mind and body, so, of all our 
concerns and pursuits, some partake the nature of the body, 
and some that of the mind. Thus beauty of person, eminent 
wealth, corporeal strength, and all other things of this kind, 
speedily pass away ; but the illustrious achievements of the 
mind are, like the mind itself, immortal. 

Of the advantages of person and fortune, as there is a 
beginning, there is also an end ; they all rise and fall 3 , increase 
and decay. But the mind, incorruptible and eternal, the 
ruler of the human race, actuates and has power over all 
things 4 , yet is itself free from control. 

The depravity of those, therefore, is the more surprising, 
who, devoted to corporeal gratifications, spend their lives in 
luxury and indolence, but suffer the mind, than which nothing 
is better or greater in man, to languish in neglect and inac- 

but they pretend that they cannot, when the truth is that they will not." " Ne- 
gotia is a common word with Sallust, for which other writers would use res, 
facta.'''' Gerlach. " Cujus rei nos ipsi sumus auctores, ejus eulpam rebus ex- 
tends attribuimus." Jfiiller. u Auctores" is the same as the Greek airioi. 

1 Useless] Aliena. Unsuitable, not to the purpose, not contributing to the im- 
provement of life. 

2 Instead of being mortal] Pro mortalibus. There are two senses in 
which these words may be taken: as far as mortals can, and instead of being 
mortals. Kritz and Dietsch say that the latter is undoubtedly the true sense. 
Other commentators are either silent or say little to the purpose. As for the 
translators, they have studied only how to get over the passage delicately. The 
latter sense is perhaps favoured by what is said in c. 2, that M the illustrious 
achievements of the mind are, like the mind itself, immortal." 

3 II. They all rise and fall, <|*c.] Omnia oria occidunt, et aucta senescunt. This 
is true of things in general, but is here spoken only of the qualities of the body, as 
De Brosses clearly perceived. 

4 Has power over all things] Habetcuncta. " All things are in its power." 
Dietsch. " Sub ditione tenet. So Jupiter, Ov. Met. i., 197: 

Quum mihi qui fulmen, qui vos habeoque rogoque." 

Burnouf. 

So Aristippus said, Habeo Laidem, non kabeor a Laide, e^oo ovk e^o/xat. Cic. 
Epist. ad Fam. ix., 26. 



86 SALLUST. 

tivity ; especially when there are so many and various mental 
employments by which the highest renown may be attained. 
III. Of these occupations, however, civil and military 
offices 1 , and all administration of public aifairs, seem to me, 
at the present time, by no means to be desired ; for neither 
is honour conferred on merit, nor are those, who have gained 
power by unlawful means, the more secure or respected for 
it. To rule our country or subjects 3 by force, though we 
may have the ability, and may correct what is wrong, is yet 
an ungrateful undertaking ; especially as all changes in the 
state lead to 3 bloodshed, exile, and other evils of discord; 
while to struggle in ineffectual attempts, and to gain nothing, 
by wearisome exertions, but public hatred, is the extreme of 

1 III. Civil and military offices] Magistratus et imperia. " Illo vocabulo 
civilia, hoc militaria munera, significantur." Bietsch. 

2 To rule our country or subjects, cf-e.] Nam vi quidem regere patriam av.t 
parentes, fyc. Cortius, Gerlach, Kritz, Dietsch, and Muller, are unanimous in 
understanding parentes as the participle of the verb pareo. That this is the 
sense, says Gerlach, is sufficiently proved by the conjunction aut ; for if Saliust 
had meant parents, he would have used nt; and in this opinion Allen coincides. 
Doubtless, also, this sense of the word suits extremely well with the rest of the 
sentence, in which changes in government are mentioned. But Burnouf, with 
Crispinus, prefers to follow Aldus Manutius, who took the word in the other sig- 
nification, supposing that Saliust borrowed the sentiment from Plato, who says 
in his Epistle ad Dionis Propinquos : Hare pa de rj prjrepa 6v% ocriov rjyov- 
fjLUL irpocrfiia^ecrOai, pr) vocrco Trapatypoj-vvrjs ixopevovs. Biav 8e wa- 
rptSt Trdkireias peTaftokrjs pr) Trpoo-tyeptiv, orav avcv (j)vya)v, Kal 
(T0ay^9 avbpcdv, pr) dvvarov fj yiveaBai rr)v dpLcrrrjy, And he makes a 

• similar observation in his Crito: liavra-^ov ttolt]T€ov^ o av KeXevoi r) 7to\ls 

re, Kal r) narpls. Bidfecr&u 8e 6v% oviov ovre prjTepa, ovre 

narepa' ttoXv &e tovtcov %tl tjttov ttjv Trarpiha. On which sentiments 
Cicero, ad Fam. i., 9, thus comments: Id enim jubet idem ille Plato, quern ego 
auctorem veJiementer sequor ; tantum contendere in republica quantum probare 
tuis civibus possis : vim. neque parenti, neque patriot a fferre oportere. There is 
also another passage in Cicero, Cat. i., 3, which seems to favour this sense of the 
word: Site parentes timerent atque odissent tui, neque eos ulla ratione placare 
posses, ut opinor, ab eorum oculis aliqub concederes; nunc tepatria, qua; com- 
munis est omnium nostrum parens odit ac metuit, cfc. Of the first passage cited 
from Plato, indeed, Sallust's words may seem to be almost a translation. Yet, as 
the majority of commentators have followed Cortius, I have also followed him. 
Saliust has the word in this sense in Jug., c. 102 : Parentes abunde habemus. So 
Veli. Pat. ii., 108: Principalis constans ex voluntate parentium. 

3 Lead to] Portendant. " Portendere in a pregnant sense, meaning not 
merely to indicate, but quasi secum ferre, to carry along with them." Kritzius. 



THE JUGURTHINE WAR. 87 

madness ; unless when a base and pernicious spirit, per- 
chance, may prompt a man to sacrifice his honour and liberty 
to the power of a party. 

IV. Among other employments which are pursued by the 
intellect, the recording of past events is of pre-eminent 
utility; but of its merits I may, I think, be silent, since 
many have spoken of them, and since, if I were to praise 
my own occupation, I might be considered as presumptuously 1 
praising myself. I believe, too, that there will be some, who, 
because I have resolved to live unconnected with political 
affairs, will apply to my arduous and useful labours the name 
of idleness ; especially those who think it an important pur- 
suit to court the people, and gain popularity by entertain- 
ments. But if such persons will consider at what periods I 
obtained office, what sort of men 2 were then unable to obtain 
it, and what description of persons have subsequently entered 
the senate 3 , they will think, assuredly, that I have altered my 
sentiments rather from prudence than from indolence, and that 
more good will arise to the state from my retirement, than 
from the busy efforts of others. 

I have often heard that Quintus Maximus 4 , Publius Scipio 5 , 
and many other illustrious men of our country, were accus- 
tomed to observe, that, when they looked on the images of 
their ancestors, they felt their minds irresistibly excited to 

1 IV. Presumptuously] Per insolentiam. The same as insolenter, though 
some refer it, not to Sallust, but to quis existumet, in the sense of strangely, i. e. 

foolishly or ignorantly. I follow Cortius's interpretation. 

2 At what periods I obtained office, what sort of men, <fc.'] Quibus ego tem- 
poribus magistraius adeptus sum, et quotes viri, $c. " Sallust obtained the 
quaestorship a few years after the conspiracy of Catiline, about the time when the 
state was agitated by the disorders of Clodius and his party. He was tribune of 
the people, A.u.c. 701, the year in which Clodius was killed by Milo. He was 
praetor in 708, when Caesar had made himself ruler. In the expression quotes 
viri, <§c, he alludes chiefly to Cato, who, when he stood for the praetorship, was 
unsuccessful." Burnouf. Kritzius defends adeptus sum. 

3 "What description of persons have subsequently entered the senate] " Caesar 
chose the worthy and unworthy, as suited his own purposes, to be members of the 
senate." Burnouf. 

4 Quintus Maximus] Quintus Fabius Maximus, of whom Ennius says, 

TJnus qui nobis cunctando restituit rem ; 
Non ponebat enim rumores ante salutem. 

5 Publius Scipio] Scipio Africanus the Elder, the conqueror of Hannibal. See 
c. 5. 



88 SALLTJST. 

the pursuit of honour 1 . 'Not, certainly, that the wax 2 , or 
the shape, had any such influence^ but, as they called to 
mind their forefathers' achievements, such a flame was kindled 
in the breasts of those eminent persons, as could not be ex- 
tinguished till their own merit had equalled the fame and 
glory of their ancestors. 

(But, in the present state of manners, who is there, on the 
contrary, that does not rather emulate his forefathers in 
riches and extravagance, than in virtue and labour? Even 
men of humble birth 3 , who formerly used to surpass the 
nobility in merit, pursue power and honour rather by in- 
trigue and dishonesty, than by honourable qualifications ; as 
if the praetorship, consulate, and all other offices of the kind, 
were noble and dignified in themselves, and not to be esti- 
mated according to the worth of those who fill them. 

But, in expressing my concern and regret at the manners 
of the state, I have proceeded with too great freedom, and at 
too great length. I now return to my subject. 

V. I am about to relate the war which the Boman people 
carried on with Jugurtha, King of the Numidians ; first, be- 
cause it was great, sanguinary, and of varied fortune ; and 
secondly, because then, for the first time, opposition was 
offered to the power of the nobility; a contest which threw 
everything, religious and civil, into confusion 4 , and was 
carried to such a height of madness, that nothing but war, 
and the devastation of Italy, could put an end to civil dis- 
sensions 5 . But before I fairly commence my narrative, I will 
take a review of a few preceding particulars, in order that 

1 To the pursuit of honour] Ad virtutem. Virtus in the same sense as in 
virtutis via, c. 1. 

2 The wax] Ceram Mam. The images or busts of their ancestors, which the 
nobility kept in the halls of their houses, were made of wax. See Plin. H. N. 
xxxv., 2. / 

3 Men of humble birth] Homines novi. See Cat., c. 23. 

4 V. Threw everything, religious and civil, into confusion] Divina et humanu 
cuncta permiscuit. "All things, both divine and human, were so changed, that 
their previous condition was entirely subverted." Dietsclu 

5 Civil dissensions] Studiis civilibus. This is the sense in which most commen- 
tators take studia ; and if this be right, the whole phrase must be understood as 
I have rendered it. So Cortius: u Ut non prius iinirentur [studia civilia"] nisi 
bello et vastitate Italia?." Sallust has studia partium, Jug. c. 42; and Gerlach 
quotes from Cic. pro Marcell. c. 10 : " Non enim cons-Mis solis et studiis, sed armis 
etiam et castris dissidebamm." 



THE JU&UETHINE WAE. 8U 

the whole subject may be more clearly and distinctly under- 
stood. 

In the second Punic war, in which Hannibal, the leader of 
the Carthaginians, had weakened the power of Italy more 
than any other enemy 1 since the Eoman name became great 2 , 
Masinissa, King of the Xumidians, being received into alliance 
by Publius Scipio, who, from his merits was afterwards sur- 
named Atricanus, had performed for us many eminent ex- 
ploits in the field. In return for which services, after the 
Carthaginians were subdued, and after Syphax 3 , whose power 
in Italy was great and extensive, was taken prisoner, the 
Eoman people presented to Masinissa, as a free gift, all the 
cities and lands that they had captured. Masinissa' s friend- 
ship for us, accordingly, remained faithful and inviolate ; 
his reign 4 and his life ended together. His son, Micipsa, 
alone succeeded to his kingdom j Mastanabal and Gulussa, 
his two brothers, having been carried off by disease. Micipsa 
had two sons 5 Adherbal and Hiempsal, and had brought up in 
his house, with the same care as his own children, a son of 
his brother Mastanabal, named Jugurtha, whom Masinissa, 
as being the son of a concubine, had left in a private station. 

YI. 'Jugurtha, as he grew up, being strong in frame, 
graceful in person, but, above all, vigorous in understanding, 
did not allow himself to be enervated by pleasure and indo- 
lence, but, as is the usage of his country, exercised himself 

1 More than any other enemy] Maxime. 

2 Since the Eoman name became great] Post magnitudlnem nominis Romani. 
u I know not why interpreters should find any difficulty in this passage. I un- 
derstand it to signify simply since the Koreans became so great as they were in 
the time of Hannibal; for, before that period, they had suffered even heavier 
calamities, especially from the Gauls." Cortius. 

3 Syphax] 8 He was King of the Masassyli in Xumidia ; was at first an enemy 
to the Carthaginians (Liv. xxiv., 48), and afterwards their friend (Liv. xxviii., 
17). He then changed sides again, and made a treaty with Scipio; but having 
at length been offered the hand of Sopbonisba, the daughter of Asdrubal, in mar- 
riage, he accepted it, and returned into alliance with the Carthaginians. Being 
subsequently taken prisoner by Masinissa and Laelius, the lieutenant of Scipio, 
(Liv. xxx., 2) he was carried into Italy, and died at Tibur (Liv. xxx., 45)." 



4 His reign] Imperii. Cortius thinks that the grant of the Romans ceased 
with the life of Masinissa, and that his son Micipsa reigned only over that part of 
Numidia which originally belonged to his father. But in this opinion succeeding 
commentators have generally supposed him to be mistaken. 






90 SALLTJST. 

in riding, throwing the javelin, and contending in the race 
with his equals in age ; and, though he excelled them all in 
reputation, he was yet beloved by all. He also passed much 
of his time in hunting ; he was first, or among the first, to 
wound the lion and other beasts ; he performed very much, 
but spoke very little of himself. 

Micipsa, though he was at first gratified with these circum- 
stances, considering that the merit of Jugurtha would be an 
honour to his kingdom, yet, when he reflected that the youth 
was daily increasing in popularity, whilst he himself was ad- 
vanced in age, and his children but young, he was extremely 
disturbed at the state of things, and revolved it frequently in 
his mind. The very nature of man, ambitious of power, and 
eager to gratify its desires, gave him reason for apprehension, 
as well as the opportunity afforded by his own age and that 
of his children, which was sufficient, from the prospect of 
such a prize, to lead astray even men of moderate desires. 
The affection of the Numidians, too, which was strong to- 
wards Jugurtha, was another cause for alarm ; among whom, 
if he should cut off such a man, he feared that some insur- 
rection or war might arise. 

VIL Surrounded by such difficulties, and seeing that a 
man, so popular among his countrymen, was not to be de- 
stroyed either by force or by fraud, he resolved, as Jugurtha 
was of an active disposition, and eager for military reputa- 
tion, to expose him to dangers in the field, and thus make 
trial of fortune. During the JSTumantine war 1 , therefore, 
when he was sending supplies of horse and foot to the 
Romans, he gave him the command of the Numidians, whom 
he despatched into Spain, hoping that he would certainly 
perish, either by an ostentatious display of his bravery, or by 
the merciless hand of the enemy. But this project had a very 
different result from that which he had expected. For when 
Jugurtha, who was of an active and penetrating intellect, had 
learned the disposition of Publius Scipio, the Roman general, 
and the character of the enemy, he quickly rose, by great exer- 

1 VII. During the Numantine war] Bello Numantino. Numantia, which stood 
near the source of the Durius or Dcmro in Spain, was so strong in its situation 
and fortifications, that it withstood the Romans for fourteen years. See Florus, 
h\, 17, 18; Veil. Pat. ii., 4. 



THE JTTGRJRTBOTE WAE. 91 

tion and vigilance, by modestly submitting to orders, and fre- 
quently exposing himself to dangers, to such a degree of repu- 
tation, that he was greatly beloved by our men, and extremely 
dreaded by the jSTumantines. He was indeed, what is pecu- 
liarly difficult, both brave in action, and wise in council ; 
qualities, of which the one, from forethought, generally pro- 
duces fear, and the other, from confidence, rashness. The 
general, accordingly, managed almost every difficult matter 
by the aid of Jugurtha, numbered him among his friends, 
and grew daily more and more attached to him, as a man 
whose advice and whose efforts were never useless. With 
such merits were joined generosity of disposition, and readi- 
ness of wit, by which he united to himself many of the 
Eomans injntimate friendship. 

VIII. vJhere were at that time, in our army, a number of 
officers, some of low, and some of high birth, to whom wealth 
was more attractive than virtue or honour ; men w r ho were 
attached to certain parties, and of consequence in their own 
country; but, among the allies, rather distinguished than 
respected. These persons inflamed the mind of Jugurtha, of 
itself sufficiently aspiring, by assuring him, " that if Micipsa 
should die, he might have the kingdom of JNTumidia to him- 
self; for that he was possessed of eminent merit, and that 
anything might be purchased at Rome." 

When JNTumantia, however, was destroyed, and Scipio had 
determined to dismiss the auxiliary troops, and to return to 
Home, he led Jugurtha, after having honoured him, in a public 
assembly, with the noblest presents and applauses, into his 
own tent ; where he privately admonished him " to court 
the friendship of the Eomans rather by attention to them 
as a body, than by practising on individuals 1 ; to bribe no 
one, as what belonged to many could not without danger 
be bought from a few ; and adding that, if he would but trust 
to his own merits, glory and regal power would spon- 
taneously fall to his lot ; but, should he proceed too rashly, 
he would only, by the influence of his money, hasten his 
own ruin." 

1 VIII. Rather by attention to them as a body, than by practising on indi- 
viduals] Publice quam privatim. "Universal potius civitatis, quam priva- 
torum gratiam [quserendo." Burnouf. The words can only be rendered peri- 
phrastically. 






92 SALLUST. 

IX. Haying thus spoken, he took leave of him, giving him 
a letter, which he was to present, to Micipsa, and of which the 
following was the purport: "The merit of your nephew 
Jugurtha, in the war against Numantia, has been eminently 
distinguished; a fact which I am sure will afford you plea- 
sure* He is dear to us for his services, and we shall strive, 
with our utmost efforts, to make him equally dear to the 
senate and people of Rome. As a friend, I sincerely congra- 
tulate you ; you have a kinsman worthy of yourself, and of 
his grandfather Masinissa." 

Micipsa, when he found, from the letter of the general, that 
what he had already heard reported was true, being moved, 
both by the merit of the youth and by the interest felt for 
him by Scipio, altered his purpose, and endeavoured to win 
Jugurtha by kindnesses. He accordingly, in a short time 1 , 
adopted him as his son, and made him, by his will, joint-heir 
with his own children. 

A few years afterwards, when, being debilitated by age and 
disease, he perceived that the end of his life was at hand, 
he is said, in the presence of his friends and relations, and 
of Adherbal and Hiempsal his sons, to have spoken with 
Jugurtha in the following manner : 

X. |fi received you, Jugurtha, at a very early age, into my 
kingdom 2 , at a time when you had lost your father, and were 
without prospects or resources, expecting that, in return for 
my kindness, I should not be less loved by you than by my 
own children, if I should have any. ISTor have my anticipa- 
tions deceived me ; for, to say nothing of your other great 
and noble deeds, you have lately, on your return from Nu- 
mantia, brought honour and glory both to me and my king- 

1 IX. In a short time] Statim. If what is said in c. 11 be correct, that Ju- 
gurtha was adopted within three years of Micipsa's death, his adoption did not 
take place till twelve years after the taking of Numantia, which surrendered in 
619, and Micipsa died in 634. Statim is therefore used with great latitude, un- 
less we suppose Sallust to mean that Micipsa signified to Jugurtha his intention 
to adopt him immediately on his return from Numantia, and that the formal 
ceremony of the adoption was delayed for some years. 

2 X. I received you — into my kingdom] In meum regnwn accepi. By these 
words it is only signified that Micipsa received Jugurtha into his palace so as to 
bring him up with his own children. The critics who suppose that there is any 
allusion to the adoption, or a pretended intention of it on the part of Micipsa, are 
evidently in the wrong. 



THE JUGTTRTHI^E WAE. 93 

dom ; by your bravery, you have rendered the Komans, from 
being previously our friends, more friendly to us than ever ; 
the name of our family is revived in Spain ; and, finally, what 
is most difficult among mankind, you have suppressed envy 
by pre-eminent merit 1 . 

" And now, since nature is putting a period to my life, I 
exhort and conjure you, by this right hand, and by the fidelity 
which you owe to my kingdom 2 , to regard these princes, who 
are your cousins by birth, and your brothers by my generosity. 
with sincere affection ; and not to be more anxious to attach 
to yourself strangers, than to retain the love of those con- 
nected with you by blood. It is not armies, or treasures 3 , 
that form the defences of a kingdom, but friends, whom you 
can neither command by force nor purchase with gold ; for 
they are acquired only by good offices and integrity. And 
who can be a greater friend than one brother to another 4 ? 
Or what stranger will you find faithful, if you are at enmity 
with your own family ? I leave you a kingdom, which will 
be strong if you act honourably, but weak, if you are ill- 
affected to each other ; for by concord even small states are 
increased, but by discord, even the greatest fall to nothing. 

"But on you, Jugurtha, who are superior in age and 
wisdom, it is incumbent, more than on your brothers, to be 
cautious that nothing of a contrary tendency may arise ; for, 
in all disputes, he that is the stronger, even though he 
receive the injury, appears, because his power is greater, to 
have inflicted it. And do you, Adherbal and Hiempsal, 
respect and regard a kinsman of such a character ; imitate 

1 Pre-eminent merit] Gloria. Our English word glory is too strong. 

- By the fidelity which you owe to my kingdom] Per regni jidem. This seems 
to be the best of all the explanations that have been offered of these words. 
" Per fidem quam tu rex (futurus) mihi regi praestare debes." Burnouf. " Per 
£dem quae decet in regno, i. e. regem." Dietsch. " Per earn fidem, qua esse decet 
eum qui regnum obtinet." Kriizius. 

3 It is not armies, or treasures, <Jc.] 'Ov rode to xP v ^ovu cr<rJ7TTpoi/ to 
tt)v fiaaiXclav ftiao-co^ov icrnv, ak\a oi ttoWoI (fiiXot crKrjTTTpov /Sacri- 
Xevo-Lv akrjOevTaTov kcu ao-tpakeo-TaTov. « It is not this golden sceptre 
that can preserve a kingdom ; but numerous friends are to princes their trust and 
safest sceptre." Xen. Cyrop.viii., 7, 14. 

4 And who can be a greater friend than one brother to another?] Quis autem 
amicior, quam f rater fratri? u Nd/xtf* ddiX(j)ovs tov$ aXrjOivov? (frikovs* 
Menander." Wasse. 



94 SALLTJST. 

his virtues, and make it your endeavour to show that I 
have not adopted a better son 1 than those whom I have be- 
gotten." 

XL To this address, Jugurtha, though he knew that the 
king had spoken insincerely 2 , and though he was himself 
revolving thoughts of a far different nature, yet replied with 
good feeling, suitable to the occasion. A few days afterwards 
Mieipsa died. 

"When the princes had performed his funeral with due 
magnificence, they met together to hold a discussion on the 
general condition of their affairs. Hiempsal, the youngest, 
who was naturally violent, and who had previously shown 

i contempt for the mean birth of Jugurtha, as being inferior 

on his mother's side, sat down on the right hand of Adherbal, 
in order to prevent Jugurtha from being the middle one of 
the three, which is regarded by the Numidians as the seat of 
honour 3 . Being urged by his brother, however, to yield to 
superior age, he at length removed, but with reluctance, to the 
other seat 4 . 

1 That I have not adopted a better son, $c.~] Ne ego meliores liberos sumsisse 
videar quam genuisse. As there is no allusion to Micipsa's adoption of any other 
son than Jugurtha, Sallust's expression liberos sumsisse can hardly be defended. 
It is necessary to give son, in the singular, in the translation. 

2 XL Had spoken insincerely] Ficta locutum. Jugurtha saw that Mieipsa pre- 
tended more love for him than he really felt. Compare c. G, 7. 

3 Which is regarded by the Numidians as the seat of honour] Quod apud 
Numidas honori ducitur. " I incline," says Sir Henry Steuart, " to consider 
those manuscripts as the most correct, in which the word et is placed immediately 
before apud, Quod et apud Numidas honori ducitur." Sir Henry might have 
learned, had he consulted the commentators, that " the word et is placed imme- 
diately before apud " in no manuscript ; that Lipsius was the first who proposed 
its insertion ; and that Crisp inus, the only editor who has received it into his text, 
is ridiculed by Wasse for his folly. " Lipsius," says Cortius, " cum sciret apud 
Romanos etiam medium locum honoratiorem fuisse, corrigit : quod et apud Nu- 
midas honori ducitur. Sed quis talia ab historico exegerit? Si de Numidis 
narrat, non facile aliquis intulerit, aliter propterea fuisse apud Romanos." 

4 To the other seat] In alteram partem. We must suppose that the three 
seats were placed ready for the three princes ; that Adherbal sat down first, in 
one of the outside seats ; the one, namely, that would be on the right hand of a 
spectator facing them ; and that Hiempsal immediately took the middle seat, on 
Adherbal's right hand, so as to force Jugurtha to take the other outside one. 
Adherbal had then to remove Hiempsal in alteram partem, that is, to induce 
him to take the seat corresponding to his own, on the other side of the middle 
one. 






THE JTJOTRTHIKE WAR. 95 

In the course of this conference, after a long debate about 
the administration of the kingdom, Jugurtha suggested, 
among other measures, " that all the acts and decrees made 
in the last five years should be annulled, as Micipsa, during 
that period, had been enfeebled by age, and scarcely sound 
in intellect." Hiempsal replied, "that he was exceedingly 
pleased with the proposal, since Jugurtha himself, within the 
last three years, had been adopted as joint-heir to the throne." 
This repartee sunk deeper into the mind of Jugurtha than 
any one imagined. 'From, that very time, accordingly, being 
agitated with resentment and jealousy, he began to meditate 
and concert schemes, and to think of nothing but projects for 
secretly cutting off Hiempsal. But his plans proving slow 
in operation, and his angry feelings remaining unabated, he 
resolved to execute his purpose by any means whatsoever. 

XII. At the first meeting of the princes, of which I have 
just spoken, it had been resolved, in consequence of their dis- 
agreement, that the treasures should be divided among them, 
and that limits should be set to the jurisdiction of each. Days 
were accordingly appointed for both these purposes, but the 
earlier of the two for the division of the money. The princes, 
in the mean time, retired into separate places of abode in the 
neighbourhood of the treasury. Hiempsal, residing in the 
town of Thirmida, happened to occupy the house of a man, 
who, being Jugurtha' s chief lictor 1 , had always been liked and 
favoured by his master. This man, thus opportunely pre- 
sented as an instrument, Jugurtha loaded with promises, and 
induced him to go to his house, as if for the purpose of look- 
ing over it, and provide himself with false keys to the gates ; 
for the true ones used to be given to Hiempsal ; adding, 
that he himself, when circumstances should call for Ins pre- 
sence, would be at the place with a large body of men. This 
commission the Numidian speedily executed, and, according 
to his instructions, admitted Jugurtha' s men in the night, who, 

1 XII. Chief lictor] Proxumus lictor. " The proximus lictor was he who, 
when the lictors walked before the prince or magistrate in a regular line, one 
, behind the other, was last, or next to the person on whom they attended." Cor- 
Hits. He would thus be ready to receive the great man's commands, and be in 
immediate communication with him. We must suppose either that Sallust 
merely speaks in conformity with the practice of the Romans, or, what is more 
probable, that the Roman custom of being preceded by lictors had been adopted 
in Numidia. 



96 SALLUST. 

as soon as they had entered the house, went different ways in 
quest of the prince ; some of his attendants they killed while 
asleep, and others as they met them ; they searched into 
secret places, broke open those that were shut, and filled the 
whole premises with uproar and tumult, Hiempsal, after a 
time, was found concealed in the hut of a maid-servant 1 , 
where, in his alarm and ignorance of the locality, he had at 
first taken refuge. The Numidians, as they had been ordered, 
brought his head to Jugurtha. 

XIII. The report of so atrocious an outrage was soon 
spread throughout Africa. Pear seized on Adherbal, and on 
all who had been subject to Micipsa. The Numidians divided 
into two parties, the greater number following Adherbal, but 
the more warlike, Jugurtha ; who, accordingly, armed as large 
a force as he could, brought several cities, partly by force and 
partly by their own consent, under his power, and prepared to 
make himself sovereign of the whole of Numidia. Adherbal, 
though he had sent ambassadors to Borne, to inform the senate 
of his brother's murder and his own circumstances, yet, relying 
on the number of his troops, prepared for an armed resistance. 
When the matter, however, came to a contest, he was de- 
feated, and fled from the field of battle into our province 2 , and 
from thence hastened to Borne. 

Jugurtha, naving thus accomplished his purposes 3 , and 
reflecting, at leisure, on the crime which he had committed, 
began to feel a dread of the Boman people, against whose 
resentment he had no hopes of security but in the avarice of 
the nobility, and in his own wealth. A few days afterwards, 
therefore, he despatched ambassadors to Borne, with a profu- 

1 Hut of a maid-servant] Tugurio mulieris ancill-ce. Rose renders tugurio 
u a mean apartment," and other translators have given something similar, as if 
they thought that the servant must have had a room in the house. But she, and 
other Numidian servants, may have had huts apart from the dwelling-house. 
Tugurium undoubtedly signifies a hut in general. 

2 XIII. Into our province] In Provinciam. " The -word province, in this place, 
signifies that part of Africa which, after the destruction of Carthage, fell to the 
Romans by the right of conquest, in opposition to the kingdom of Micipsa." 
Wasse. 

3 Having thus accomplished his purposes] Patratis consiliis. After consiliis, 
in all the manuscripts, occur the words postquam omiris Numidice potiebatur, 
which were struck out by Cortius, as being turpissima glossa. The recent 
editors, Gerlach, Kritz, Dietsch, and Burnouf, have restored them. 



THE JUGTTRTHIKE WAB. 97 

sion of gold and silver, whom lie directed, in the first place, 
to make abundance of presents to his old friends, and then to 
procure him new ones ; and not to hesitate, in short, to effect 
whatever could be done by bribery. 

When these deputies had arrived at Rome, and had sent 
large presents, according to the prince's direction, to his inti- 
mate friends 1 , and to others whose influence was at that time 
powerful, so remarkable a change ensued, that Jugurtha, from 
being an object of the greatest odium, grew into great re- 
gard and favour with the nobility ; who, partly allured with 
hope, and partly with actual largesses, endeavoured, by solicit- 
ing the members of the senate individually, to prevent any 
severe measures from being adopted against him. "When the 
ambassadors, accordingly, felt sure of success, the senate, on 
a fixed day, gave audience to both parties 2 . On that occasion, 
Adherbal, as I have understood, spoke to the following eifect : 

XIV. " My father Micipsa, Conscript Fathers, enjoined 
me, on his death-bed, to look upon the kingdom of Numidia 
as mine only by deputation 3 ; to consider the right and 
authority as belonging to you; to endeavour, at home and in 
the field, to be as serviceable to the Roman people as pos- 
sible; and to regard you as my kindred and relatives 4 : 
saying that, if I observed these injunctions, I should find, in 
your friendship, armies, riches, and all necessary defences of 
my realm. By these precepts I was proceeding to regulate 
my conduct, when Jugurtha, the most abandoned of all men 
whom the earth contains, setting at nought your authority, 
expelled me, the grandson of Masinissa, and the hereditary 5 
ally and friend of the Roman people, from my kingdom and 
all my possessions. 

" Since I was thus to be reduced to such an extremity of 

1 His intimate friends] Hospitibus. Persons probably with whom he had been 
intimate at Numantia, or who had since visited him in Numidia, 

2 The senate — gave audience to both parties] Senatus utrisqv£, datur. " The 
ambassadors of Jugurtha, and Adherbal in person, are admitted into the senate- 
house to plead their cause." Burnouf. 

3 XIV. By deputation] Procuratione. He was to consider himself only the 
procurator, manager, or deputed governor, of the kingdom. 

4 Kindred — and relatives] Cognatorum — affinium. Cognatus is a blood rela- 
tion ; affinis is properly a relative by marriage. 

5 Hereditary] Ab stirpe. 

H 



98 SALLTJST. 

wretchedness, I could wish that I were able to implore your 
aid, Conscript Fathers, rather for the sake of my own services 
than those of my ancestors ; I could wish, indeed, above all, 
that acts of kindness were due to me from the Eomans, of 
which I should not stand in need ; and, next to this 1 , that, if 
I required your services, I might receive them as my due. 
But as integrity is no defence in itself, and as I had no 
power to form the character of Jugurtha 3 , I have fled to you, 
Conscript Fathers, to whom, what is the most grievous of all 
things, I am compelled to become a burden before I have been 
an assistance. 

" Other princes have been received into your friendship 
after having been conquered in war, or have solicited an alli- 
ance with you in circumstances of distress; but our family com- 
menced its league with the Eomans in the war with Carthage, 
at a time when their faith was a greater object of attraction 
than their fortune. Suffer not, then, Conscript Fathers, a 
descendant of that family to implore aid from you in vain. If 
I had no other plea for obtaining your assistance but my 
wretched fortune ; nothing to urge, but that, having been re- 
cently a king, powerful by birth, by character, and by re- 
sources, I am now dishonoured, afflicted 3 , destitute, and de- 
pendent on the aid of others, it would yet become the dignity 
of Borne to protect me from injury, and to allow no man's 
dominions to be increased by crime. But I am driven from 
those very territories which the Boman people gave to my 
ancestors, and from which my father and grandfather, in con- 
junction with yourselves, expelled Syphax and the Cartha- 
ginians. It is what you bestowed that has been wrested from 
me ;.in my wrongs you are insulted. 

H Unhappy man that I am ! Has your kindness, O my 
father Micipsa, come to this, that he whom you made equal 
with your children, and a sharer of your kingdom, should be- 

1 Next to this] Secundum ea. " Priscianus, lib. xiii. , de praepositione agens, 
Secundum, inquit, quando pro Kara et fiera accipitur, loco prcepositionis est 

Sallustius in Jugurthino : secundum ea, uti debitis uterer. Videlicet hoc 

dicit, Secundum in Sallnstii exemplo,^?os£ ve\ proximo significare." Rivius. 

2 As I had no power to form the character of Jugurtha] Neqae mild in manu 
fait, qualis Jugurtha foret. " In manu fuit is simply in potestate fuit. 

Ter. Hec. iv., 4, 44: Uxor quid faciat in manu non est mea." Cortius. 

3 Dishonoured, afflicted] Deformatus cerumnis. 



THE JUGTJETHLNTE WAK. 99 

come, above all others 1 , the destroyer of your race ? Shall our 
family, then, never be at peace ? Shall we always be harassed 
with war, bloodshed, and exile ? "Whilst the Carthaginians 
continued in power, we were necessarily exposed to all manner 
of troubles ; for the enemy were on our frontiers ; you, our 
friends, were at a distance ; and all our dependence was on 
our arms. But after thatjpest was extirpated, we were happy 
in the enjoyment of tranquillity, as having no enemies but 
such as you should happen to appoint us. But lo ! on a 
sudden, Jugurtha, stalking forth with intolerable audacity, 
wickedness, and arrogance, and having put to death my bro- 
ther, his own cousin, made his territory, in the first place, the 
prize of his guilt ; and next, being unable to ensnare me with 
similar stratagems, he rendered me, when under your rule I 
expected anything rather than violence or war, an exile, as 
you see, from my country and my home, the prey of poverty 
and misery, and safer anywhere than in my own kingdom. 

" I was always of opinion, Conscript Fathers, as I had 
often heard my father observe, that those who cultivated 
yonr friendship might indeed have an arduous service to per- 
form, but would be of all people the most secure. What our 
family could do for you, it has done ; it has supported you in 
all your wars ; and it is for you to provide for our safety in 
time of peace. Our father left two of us, brothers ; a third, 
Jugurtha, he thought would be attached to us by the benefits 
conferred upon him ; but one of us has been murdered, and 
I, the other, have scarcely escaped the hand of lawlessness 3 . 
What course can I now take ? Unhappy that I am, to what 
place, rather than another, shall I betake myself ? All the 
props of our family are extinct ; my father, of necessity, has 
paid the debt of nature ; a kinsman, whom least of all men it 
became, has wickedly taken the life of my brother ; and as for 

1 Above all others] Potissimum. 

2 One of us has been murdered, and I, the other, have scarcely escaped the 
hand of lawlessness] Alter eorum necatus, alterius ipse ego manus impias vix 
effugi. This is the general reading, but it cannot be right. Adherbal speaks of 

- himself and his brother as two persons, and of Jugurtha as a third, and says that 
of those two the one (alter) has been killed; he would then naturally proceed to 
speak of himself as the other; i.e. he would use the word alter concerning 
himself, not apply it to Jugurtha. Allen therefore proposes to read alter necatus, 
alter manus impias vix effugi. This mode of correction strikes out too much ; 
but there is no doubt that the second alter should be in the nominative case. 

h2 



100 SALLIJST. 

my other relatives, and friends, and connexions, various forms 
of destruction have overtaken them. Seized by Jugurtha, 
some have been crucified, and some thrown to wild beasts, 
while a few, whose lives have been spared, are shut up in the 
darkness of the dungeon, and drag on, amid suffering and 
sorrow^, an existence more grievous than death itself. 

" If all that I have lost, or all that, from being friendly, has 
become hostile to me 1 , remained unchanged, yet, in case of 
any sudden calamity, it is of you that I should still have to 
implore assistance, to whom, from the greatness of your em- 
pire, justice and injustice in general should be objects of 
regard. And at the present time, when I am exiled from my 
country and my home, when I am left alone, and destitute of 
all that is suitable to my dignity, to whom can I go, or to 
whom shall I appeal, but to you ? Shall I go to nations and 
kings, who, from our friendship with Borne, are -all hostile to 
my family ? Could I go, indeed, to any place where there 
are not abundance of hostile monuments of my ancestors ? 
"Will any one, w T ho has ever been at enmity with you, take 
pity upon me ? 

" Masinissa, moreover, instructed us, Conscript Fathers, to 
cultivate no friendship but that of Eome, to adopt no new 
leagues or alliances, as we should find, in your good- will, 
abundance of efficient support ; w r hile, if the fortune of your 
empire should change, we must sink together with it. But, 
by your own merits, and the favour of the gods, 3^011 are 
great and powerful ; the whole world regards you with favour 
and yields to your power ; and you are the better able, in 
consequence, to attend to the grievances of your allies. My 
only fear is, that private friendship for Jugurtha, too little 
understood, may lead any of you astray ; for his partisans, 
I hear, are doing their utmost in his behalf, soliciting and 
importuning you individually, to pass no decision against 
one who is absent, and whose cause is yet untried ; and say- 
ing that I state what is false, and only pretend to be an exile, 
when I might, if I pleased, have remained still in my kingdom. 
Eut would that I could see him 2 , by whose unnatural crime I 

1 From being friendly, Las become hostile to me] Ex necessariis advorsa facta 
sunt. " Si omnia mihi incolumia manerer.t, neque quidquam rernm mearum 
(s. prajsidiorum) amisissem, neque Jugurtha aliiqua mihi ex necessariis inimici 
facti essent." Kritzius. 

- But would that I could see him, <fc] Quodutinam iUum—videam. The quod, 



THE JUGURTHISTE WAE. 101 

am thus reduced to misery, pretending as I now pretend ; 
and would that, either with you or with the immortal gods, 
there may at length arise some regard for human interests ; 
for then assuredly will he, who is now audacious and trium- 
phant in guilt, be tortured by every kind of suffering, and 
pay a heavy penalty for his ingratitude to my father, for the 
murder of my brother, and for the distress which he has 
brought upon myself. 

" And now, my brother, dearest object of my affection, 
though thy life has been prematurely taken from thee, and 
by a hand that should have been the last to touch it, yet I 
think thy fate a subject for rejoicing rather than lamentation, 
for, in losing life, thou hast not been cut off from a throne, 
but from flight, expatriation, poverty, and all those afflictions 
which now press upon me. But I, unfortunate that I am, 
cast from the throne of my father into the depths of cala- 
mity, afford an example of human vicissitudes, undecided 
what course to adopt, whether to avenge thy wrongs, whilst 
I myself stand in need of assistance, or to attempt the re- 
covery of my kingdom, whilst my life or death depends on 
the aid of others 1 . 

" Would that death could be thought an honourable ter- 
mination to my misfortunes, that I might not seem to live 
an object of contempt, if, sinking under my afflictions, I tamely 
submit to injustice. But now I can neither live with plea- 
sure, nor can die without disgrace 2 . I implore you, there- 
fore, Conscript Fathers, by your regard for yourselves 3 , for 

in quod utinam, is the same as that in quod si, which we commonly translate 
but if. Quod, in snch expressions, serves as a particle of connexion between what 
precedes and what follows it ; the Latins being fond of connexion by means of 
relatives: See Zumpt's Lat. Grammar on this point, Sect. 63, 82, Kenrick's 
translation. Kritzius writes quodutinam, quodsi, quodnisi, cf-c, as one word. 
Cortius injudiciously interprets quod in this passage as having facientem under- 
stood with it. 

1 My life or death depends on the aid of others] Cujus vitce necisque ex opibus 
alienis pendet. On the aid of the Romans. Unless they protected him, he ex- 
pected to meet with the same fate as Hiempsal at the hands of Jugurtha. 

2 Without disgrace] Sine dedecore. That is, if he did not succeed in getting 
revenge on Jugurtha. 

3 By your regard for yourselves, ^c] I have here departed from the text of 
Cortius, who reads per, vos, liberos atque parentes, i. e. vos {pbsecro) per liber os, 
#c, as most critics would explain it, though Cortius himself prefers taking vos as 
the nominative case, and joining it with subvenite, which follows. Most other 



102 SALLUST. 






your children, and for your parents, and by the majesty of 
the Roman people, to grant me succour in my distress, to 
arrest the progress of injustice, and not to suffer the king- 
dom of JSTumidia, which is your own property, to sink into 
ruin 1 through villany and the slaughter of our family." 

XV. When the prince had concluded his speech, the am- 
bassadors of Jugurtha, depending more on their money than 
their cause, replied, in a few words, " that Hiempsal had 
been put to death by the JNumidians for his cruelty ; that 
Adherbal, commencing war of his own accord, complained, 
after he was defeated, of being unable to do injury ; and that 
Jugurtha intreated the senate not to consider him a different 
person from what he had been known to be at Numantia, 
nor to set the assertions of his enemy above his own con- 
duct." 

^Both parties then withdrew from the senate-house, and 
the senate immediately proceeded to deliberate. The par- 
tisans of the ambassadors, with a great many others, cor- 
rupted by their influence, expressed contempt for the state- 
ments of Adherbal, extolled with the highest encomiums the 
merits of Jugurtha, and exerted themselves as strenuously, 
with their interest and eloquence, in defence of the guilt and 
infamy of another, as they would have striven for their own 
honour. A few, however, on the other hand, to whom right 
and justice were of more estimation than wealth, gave their 
opinion that Adherbal should be assisted, and the murder 
of Hiempsal severely avenged. Of all these the most for- 

editions have per vos, per liberos, atque parentes vestros, to which I have adhered. 
Per vos, though an adjuration not used in modern times, is found in other passages 
of the Roman writers. Thus Liv. xxix., 18 : Per vos, fidemque vestram. Cic, 
pro Plane., c. 42 : Per vos, per fortunas vestras. 

1 To sink into ruin] Tabescere. " Paullatim interne." Cortius. Lucret. ii., 
1172 : Omnia paullatim tabescere et ire Ad captilum. 

" This speech," says Gerlach, " though of less weighty argument than the 
other speeches of Sallust, is composed with great art. Neither the speaker nor his 
cause was adapted for the highest flights of eloquence ; but Sallust has shrouded 
Adherbal's weakness in excellent language. That there is a constant recurrence 
to the same topics, is no ground for blame; indeed, such recurrence could hardly 
be avoided, for it is natural to all speeches in which the orator earnestly labours to 
make his hearers adopt his own feelings and views. The Romans were again and 
again to be supplicated, and again and again to be reminded of the character and 
services of Masinissa, that they might be induced, if not by the love of justice, 
yet by the dread of cessure, to relieve the distresses of his grandson. ... He 



THE JUGTJBTHLN'E WAE. 103 

ward was ./Emilius Scaurus 1 , a man of noble birth and great 
energy, but factious, and ambitious of power," honour, and 
wealth ; yet an artful concealer of his own vices. He, seeing 
that the bribery of Jugurtha was notorious and shameless, 
and fearing that, as in such cases often happens, its scan- 
dalous profusion might excite public odium, restrained him- 
self from the indulgence of his ruling passion 3 . 

XVI. Yet that party gained the superiority in the senate, 
which preferred money and interest to justice. A decree 
was made, " that ten commissioners should divide the king- 
dom, which Micipsa had possessed, between Jugurtha and 
Adherbal." Of this commission the leading person was 
Lucius Opimius 8 , a man of distinction, and of great influence 

omits no argument or representation that could more the pity of the Eomans ; and 
if his abject prostration of mind appears more suitable to a woman than a man, it 
is to be remembered that it is purposely introduced by Sallust to exhibit the 
weakness of his character." 

1 XV. ^Emilius Scaurus] He was princeps senatus (see c. 25), and seems to be 
pretty faithfully characterised by Sallust as a man of eminent abilities, but too 
avaricious to be strictly honest. Cicero, who alludes to him in many passages 
with commendation (Off. i., 22, 30; Brut. 29; Pro Mursen. 7; Pro Fonteio, 7), 
mentions an anecdote respecting him (De Orat. ii., 70), which shows that he had 
a general character for covetousness. See Pliny, H. N. xxxvi., 15. Valerius 
Maximus (in., 7, 8) tells another anecdote of him, which shows that he must have 
been held in much esteem, for whatever qualities, by the public. Being accused 
before the people of having taken a bribe from Mithridates, he made a few remarks 
on his own general conduct ; and added, " Varius of Sucro says that Marcus 
Scaurus, being bribed with the king's money, has betrayed the interests of the 
Roman people. Marcus Scaurus denies that he is guilty of what is laid to his 
charge. Which of the two do you believe ?" The people dismissed the accusa- 
tion ; but the words of Scaurus may be regarded as those of a man rather seeking 
to convey a notion of his innocence, than capable of proving it. The circumstance 
which Cicero relates is this. Scaurus had incurred some obloquy for having, as 
it was said, taken possession of the property of a certain rich man, named Phyrgio 
Pompeius, without being entitled to it by any will ; and being engaged as advo- 
cate in some cause, Memmius, who was pleading on the opposite side, seeing a 
funeral pass by at the time, said, " Scaurus, yonder is a dead man, on his way to 
the grave ; if you can but get possession of his property !" I mention these 
matters because it has been thought that Sallust, from some ill-feeling, represents 
Scaurus as more avaricious than he really was. 

2 His ruling passion] Consuetd libidine. Namely, avarice. 

3 XVI. Lucius Opimius] His contention with the party of C. Gracchus may 
be seen in any history of Rome. For receiving bribes from Jugurtha he was pub- 
licly accused, and, being condemned, ended his life, which was protracted to old 
age, in exile and neglect. Cic. Brut. 33 ; Plane. 28. 



104 SALLUST. 

at that time in the senate, from having in his consulship, on 
the death of Caius Gracchus and Marcus Fulvius Flaccus, 
prosecuted the victory of the nobility over the plebeians with 
great severity. 

Jugurtha, though he had already counted Scaurus among 
his friends at Rome, yet received him with the most studied 
ceremony, and, by presents and promises, wrought on him so 
effectually, that he preferred the prince's interest to his own 
character, honour, and all other considerations. The rest of 
the commissioners he assailed in a similar way, and gained 
over most of them ; by a few only integrity was more re- 
garded than lucre. In the division of the kingdom, that 
part of Numidia which borders on Mauretania, and which is 
superior in fertility and population, was allotted to Jugurtha ; 
of the other part, which, though better furnished with har- 
bours and buildings, was more valuable in appearance than 
in reality, Adherbal became the possessor. 

XVII. My subject seems to require of me, in this place, 
a brief account of the situation of Africa, and of those 
nations in it with whom we have had war or alliances. But 
of those tracts and countries, which, from their heat, or 
difficulty of access, or extent of desert, have been but little 
visited, I cannot possibly give any exact description. Of the 
rest I shall speak with all possible brevity. 

In the division of the earth, most writers consider Africa 
as a third part ; a few admit only two divisions, Asia and 
Europe 1 , and include Africa in Europe. It is bounded, on 
the west, by the strait connecting our sea with the ocean 2 ; 
on the east, by a vast sloping tract, which the natives call 
the Catabathmos 3 . The sea is boisterous, and deficient in 

1 XVII. Only two divisions, Asia and Europe] Thus Varro, de L. L. iv., 13, 
ed. Bip. " As all nature is divided into heaven and earth, so the heaven is divided 
into regions, and the earth into Asia and Europe." See Broukh. ad Tibnll. iv. T 
1, 176. 

2 The strait connecting our sea with the ocean] Fretum nostri maris et 
oceani. That is, the Fretum Gaditanum, or Strait of Gibraltar. By our sea, he 
means the Mediterranean. See Pomp. Mela, i., 1. 

3 A vast sloping tract — Catabathmos] Declivem latitudinem, quern locum 
Catabathmon incolos appellant. Catabathmus — vallis repente convexa, Plin. H. 
N. v., 5. Catabathmus, vallis devexa in AZgyptum, Pomp. Mela, i., 8. I have 
translated declivem latitudinem in conformity with these passages. Catabathmus, 
a Greek word, means a descent There were two, the major and minor; Sallust 
speaks of the major. 



I 



THE JTTGUBTHIKE TVAB. 105 

harbours ; the soil is fertile in corn, and good for pasturage, 
but unproductive of trees. There is a scarcity of water both 
from rain and from land-springs. The natives are healthy, 
swift of foot, and able to endure fatigue. Most of them die 
by the gradual decay of age 1 , except such as perish by the 
sword or beasts of prey ; for disease finds but few victims. 
Animals of a venomous nature they have in great numbers. 

Concerning the original inhabitants of Africa, the settlers 
that afterwards joined them, and the manner in which they 
intermingled, I shall offer the following brief account, which, 
though it differs from the general opinion, is that which was 
interpreted to me from the Punic volumes said to have be- 
longed to King Hiempsal 2 , and which the inhabitants of thai 
country believe to be consistent with fact. Tor the truth 
of the statement, however, the writers themselves must be re- 
sponsible. 

XVIII.\Airiea, then, was originally occupied by the Getu- 
lians and tibyans 3 , rude and uncivilised tribes, who sub- 
sisted on the flesh of wild animals, or, like cattle, on the 
herbage of the soil. They were controlled neither by cus- 
toms, laws, nor the authority of any ruler ; they wandered 
about, without fixed habitations, and slept in the abodes to 
which night drove them. But after Hercules, as the Afri- 
cans think, perished in Spain, his army, which was composed 
of various nations 4 , having lost its leader, and many candi- 

1 Most of them die by the gradual decay of age] Plerosque senectus dissohit. 
" A happy expression; since the effect of old age on the bodily frame is not to 
break it in pieces suddenly, but to dissolve it, as it were, gradually and imper- 
ceptibly." Burnouf. 

2 King Hiempsal] "This is not the prince that was murdered by Jugurtha, 
but the king who succeeded him; he was grandson of Masinissa, son of Gulussa, 
and father of Juba. After Juba was killed at Thapsus, Csesar reduced Nu- 
midia to the condition of a province, and appointed. Sallust over it, who had thus 
opportunities of gaining a knowledge of the country, and of consulting the books 
written in the language of it." Burnouf. 

3 XVIII. Getulians and Libyans] Gcetidi et Libyes. " See Pompon. Mel. i., 4 ; 
Plin. H. N. v., 4, 6, 8, v., 2, xxi., 13 ; Herod, iv., 159, 168." Gerlacli. The 
name Gatuli, is, however, unknown to Herodotus. They lay to the south of Xu- 
midia and Mauretania. See Strabo xvii., 3. Libyes is a term applied by the 
Greek writers properly to the Africans of the North coast, but frequently to the 
inhabitants of Africa in general. 

4 His army, which was composed of various nations] This seems to have been 
an amplification of the adventure of Hercules with Geryon, who was a king in 



106 SALLITST. 

dates severally claiming the command of it, was speedily 
dispersed. Of its constituent troops, the Medes, Persians, 
and Armenians 1 , having sailed over into Africa, occupied the 
parts nearest to our sea 2 . The Persians, however, settled 
more towards the ocean 3 , and used the inverted keels of 
their vessels for huts, there being no wood in the country, 
and no opportunity of obtaining it, either by purchase or 
barter, from the Spaniards ; for a wide sea, and an unknown 
tongue, were barriers to all intercourse. These, by degrees, 
formed intermarriages with the Gretulians ; and because, 
from constantly trying different soils, they were perpetually 
shifting their abodes, they called themselves Numidiaks 4 . 
And to this day the huts of the Numidian boors, which they 
call mapalia, are of an oblong shape, with curved roofs; 
resembling the hulls of ships. 

The Medes and Armenians connected themselves with the 
Libyans, who dwelt near the African sea ; while the Getu- 
lians lay more to the sun 5 , not far from the torrid heats ; and 

Spain, But all stories that make Hercules a leader of armies appear to be 
equally fabulous. 

1 Medes, Persians, and Armenians] De Brosses thinks that these were not 
real Medes, <§c, but that the names were derived from certain companions of 
Hercules. The point is not worth discussion. 

2 Our sea] The Mediterranean. See above, c. 17. 

3 More towards the ocean] Intra oceanum magis. " Intra oceanum is dif- 
ferently explained by different commentators. Cortius, Muller, and Gerlach, 
understand the parts bounded by the ocean, lying close upon it, and stretching 
toward the west ; while Langius thinks that the regions more remote from the 
Atlantic Ocean, and extending towards the east, are meant. But Langius did not 
consider that those who had inverted keels of vessels for cottages, could not have 
strayed far from the ocean, but must have settled in parts bordering upon it. 
And this is what is signified by intra oceanum. For intra aliquam rein is not 
always used to denote what is actually in a thing, and circumscribed by its boun- 
daries, but what approaches towards it and reaches close to it." Kritzius. He 
then instances intra modum, intra legem ; Hortensii scripta intra famam sunt, 
Quintil. xi., 3, 8. But the best example which he produces is Liv. xxv., 11: 
Fossa ingens ducta, et vallum intra earn emgitur. Cicero, in Verr. iii., 89, has 
also, he notices, the same expression, Locus intra oceanum jam nullus est, — quo 
non nostrorum Jwminum libido iniquitasque pervaserit, i. e. locus oceano confer ~ 
minus. Burnouf absurdly follows Langius. 

4 Numidians] Numidas. The same as Nomades, or wanderers ; a term applied 
to pastoral nations, and which, as Kritzius observes, the Africans must have had 
from the Greeks, perhaps those of Sicily. 

5 More to the sun] Sub sole magis. I have borrowed this expression from 
Rose. The Getulians were more southward. 



THE JUGTTETHIKE WAE. 107 

these soon built themselves towns 1 , as, being separated from 
Spain only by a strait, they proceeded to open an intercourse 
with its inhabitants. The name of Medes the Libyans gra- 
dually corrupted, changing it, in their barbarous tongue, into 
Moors 2 . 

Of the Persians 3 the power rapidly increased ; and at 
length, the children, through excess of population, separating 
from the parents, they took possession, under the name of 
^Sumidians, of those regions bordering on Carthage which 
are now called Numidia. In process of time, the two par- 
ties 4 , each assisting the other, reduced the neighbouring 
tribes, by force or fear, under their sway ; but those who had 
spread towards our sea, made the greater conquests ; for the 
Libyans are less warlike than the Gretulians 5 . At last nearly 
all lower Africa 6 was occupied by the Numidians ; and all 
the conquered tribes were merged in the nation and name of 
their conquerors. 

XIX. .At a later period, the Phoenicians, some of whom 
wished to lessen their numbers at home, and others, ambi- 
tious of empire, engaged the populace, and such as were 
eager for change, to follow them, founded Hippo 7 , Adrume- 

1 These soon built themselves towns] That is, the united Medes, Armenians, 
and Libyans. 

2 Medes — into Moors] Mauros pro Medis. A most improbable, not to say 
impossible, corruption. 

3 Of the Persians] Persarum. That is, of the Persians and Getulians 
united. 

4 The two parties] Utrique. The older Numidians, and the younger, who had 
emigrated towards Carthage. 

5 Those who had spread towards our sea — for the Libyans are less warlike than 
the Getulians] Magis hi, qui ad nostrum mare processerant ; quia Libyes quam 
Goetuli minus bellicosi. The Persians and Getulians (under the name of Numi- 
dians), and their colonists, who were more towards the Mediterranean, and were 
more warlike than the Libyans (who were united with the Medes and Armenians), 
took from them portions of their territories by conquest. This is clearly the sense, 
as deducible from the preceding portion of the text. 

6 Lower Africa] African pars inferior. The part nearest to the sea. The 
ancients called the maritime parts of a country the lower parts, and the inland 

i parts the higher, taking the notion, probably, from the course of the rivers. Lower 
Egypt was the part at the mouth of the Kile. 

7 XIX. Hippo] " It is not Hippo Eegius" (now called Bona) " that is meant, 
but another Hippo, otherwise called Diarrhytum or Zarytum, situate in Zengi- 
tana, not far from Utica. This is shown by the order in which the places are 
named, as has already been observed by Cortius." Kritzius. 



108 SALLUST. 

turn, Leptis 1 , and other cities, on the sea-coast ; which, soon 
growing powerful, became partly a support, and partly an 
honour, to their parent state. Of Carthage I think it better 
to be silent, than to say but little ; especially as time bids me 
hasjten to other matters. 

Next to the Catabathmos 2 , then, which divides Egypt 
from Africa, the first city along the sea-coast 3 is Cyrene, a 
colony of Therseans 4 ; after which are the two Syrtes 5 , with 
Leptis 6 between them j then the Altars of the Philseni 7 , 
which the Carthaginians considered the boundary of their do» 
minion on the side of Egypt ; beyond these are the other 
Punic towns. The other regions, as far as Mauretania, the 
Numidians occupy ; the Moors are nearest to Spain. To 
the south of Numidia 8 , as we are informed, are the Getu- 
lians, of whom some live in huts, and others lead a vagrant 
and less civilised life ; beyond these are the Ethiopians ; and 
farther on, regions parched by the heat of the sun. 

At the time of the Jugurthine war, most of the Punic 
towns, and the territories which Carthage had lately pos- 
sessed 9 , were under the government of Roman praetors ; a 
great part of the G-etulians, and Numidia as far as the river 
Mulucha, were subject to Jugurtha ; while the whole of the 
Moors were governed by Bocchus, a king who knew nothing 
of the Romans but their name, and who, before this period, 
was as little known to us, either in war or peace. Of Africa 

1 Leptis] There were two cities of this name. Leptis Major, now Lebida, lay 
between the two Syrtes ; Leptis Minor, now Lempta, between the smaller Syrtis 
and Carthage. It is the latter that is meant here, and in c. 77, 78. 

2 Next to the Catabathmos] Ad Catabatkmon. Ad means, on the side of the 
country towards the Catabathmos. " Catabathmon initium ponens Sallustius ab 
eo discedit." Kritzius. 

3 Along the sea-coast] Secundo mari. " Si quis secundum mare pergat." 
Wasse. 

4 Of Theraeans] Therceon. From the island of Thera, one of the Sporades, in 
the iEgean Sea, now called Santorin. Battus was the leader of the colony. See 
Herod, iv., 145; Strab. xvii., 3; Pind. Pyth. iv. 

5 Two Syrtes] See c. 78. 

6 Leptis] That is, Leptis Major. See above on this c. 

7 Altars of the Philasni] See c. 79. 

8 To the south of Numidia] Super Numidiam. "Ultra Numidiam, meridiem 
versus." Burnouf. 

9 Had lately possessed] Novissime habueranU In the interval between the 
second and third Punic wars. 



THE JTTGUETHINE WAB. 109 

and its inhabitants I have now said all that my narrative 
requires. 

XX. When the commissioners, after dividing the king- 
dom, had left Africa, and Jugurtha saw that, contrary to his 
apprehensions, he had obtained the object of his crimes ; he 
then, being convinced of the truth of what he had heard 
from his friends at JNumantia, " that all things were pur- 
chasable at Eome," and being also encouraged by the pro- 
mises of those whom he had recently loaded with presents, 
directed his views to the domain of Adherbal. He was him- 
self bold and warlike, while the other, at whose destruction 
he aimed, was quiet, unfit for arms, of a mild temper, a fit 
subject for injustice, and a prey to fear rather than an object 
of it. Jugurtha, accordingly, with a powerful force, made a 
sudden irruption into his dominions, took several prisoners, 
with cattle and other booty, set fire to the buildings, and made 
hostile demonstrations against several places with his cavalry. 
He then retreated, with all his followers, into his own king- 
dom, expecting that Adherbal, roused by such provocation, 
would avenge his wrongs by force, and thus furnish a pre- 
text for war. But Adherbal, thinking himself unable to 
meet Jugurtha in the field, and relying on the friendship 
of the Romans more than on the Numidians, merely sent 
ambassadors to Jugurtha to complain of the outrage ; and, 
although they brought back but an insolent reply, yet he 
resolved to endure anything rather than have recourse to 
war, which, when he attempted it before, had ended in his 
defeat. By such conduct the eagerness of Jugurtha was not 
at all allayed ; for he had now, indeed, in imagination, pos- 
sessed himself of all Adherbal' s dominions. He therefore 
renewed hostilities, not, as before, with a predatory band, but 
at the head of a large army which he had collected, and 
openly aspired to the sovereignty of all Xumidia. "Wherever 
he marched, he ravaged the towns and the fields, drove of! 
booty, and raised confidence in his own men and dismay among 
the enemy. 

XXI. Adherbal, when he found that matters had arrived 
at such a point, that he must either abandon his dominions, 
or defend them by force of arms, collected an army from 
necessity, and advanced to meet Jugurtha. Both armies 



110 SALLUST. 

took up 1 their position near the town of Cirta 2 , at no great 
distance from the sea ; but, as evening was approaching, en- 
camped without coming to an engagement. But when the 
night was far advanced, and twilight was beginning to ap- 
pear 3 , the troops of Jugurtha, at a given signal, rushed into 
the camp of the enemy, whom they routed and put to night, 
some half asleep, and others resuming their arms. Adher- 
bal, with a few of his cavalry, fled to Cirta ; and, had there 
not been a number of Romans 4, in the town, who repulsed his 
Numidian pursuers from the walls, the war between the two 
princes would have been begun and ended on the same day. 
Jugurtha proceeded to invest the town, and attempted to 
storm it with the aid of mantelets, towers, and every kind of 
machines ; being anxious, above all things, to take it before 
the ambassadors could arrive at Ronie, who, he was informed, 
had been despatched thither by Adherbal before the battle 
was fought. But as soon as the senate heard of their con- 
tention, three young men 5 were sent as deputies into Africa, 
with directions to go to both of the princes, and to announce 
to them, in the words of the senate and people of Rome, 
"that it was their will and f resolution that they should lay 
down their arms, and settle their disputes rather by arbitra- 

1 XXI. Both armies took up, cfc] I have omitted the word interim at the be- 
ginning of this sentence, as it would be worse than useless in the translation. It 
signifies, during the interval before the armies came to an engagement ; but this 
is sufficiently expressed at the termination of the sentence. 

2 Cirta] Afterwards named Sittianorum Colonia, from P. Sittius Nucerinus 
(mentioned in Cat., c. 21), who assisted Caesar in the African war, and was re- 
warded by him with the possession of this city and its lands. It is now called 
Constantina, from Constantine the Great, who enlarged and restored it when it 
had fallen into decay. Strabo describes it, xvii., 3. 

3 Twilight was beginning to appear] Obscuro etiam turn limine. Before day 
had fairly dawned. 

4 Romans] Togatorwn. Romans, with, perhaps, some of the allies, engaged in 
merchandise or other peaceful occupations, and therefore wearing the toga. They 
are called Italici in c. 26. 

5 Three young men] Tres adolescentes. Cortius includes these words in 
brackets, regarding them as the insertion of some sciolist. But a sciolist, as Bur- 
nouf observes, would hardly have thought of inserting tres adolescentes. The 
words occur in all the MSS., and are pretty well confirmed by what is said below, 
c. 25, that when the senate next sent a deputation, they took care to make it con- 
sist of majores natu, nobiles. See on adolescens, Cat., c. 38. 



THE JUGTTETHIKE WAR. Ill 

tion than by the sword ; since to act thus would be to the 
honour both of the Eomans and themselves." 

XXII. These deputies soon arrived in Africa, using the 
greater despatch, because, whilst they were preparing for 
their journey, a report was spread at Rome of the battle 
which had been fought, and of the siege of Cirta ; but this 
report told much less than the truth 1 . Jugurtha, having 
given them an audience, replied, "that nothing was of 
greater weight with him, nothing more respected, than the 
authority of the senate ; that it had been his endeavour, from 
his youth, to deserve the esteem of all men of worth ; that 
he had gained the favour of Publius Scipio, a man of the 
highest eminence, not by dishonourable practices, but by 
merit ; that, for the same good qualities, and not from want 
of heirs to the throne, he had been adopted by Micipsa ; but 
that, the more honourable and spirited his conduct had been, 
the less could his feelings endure injustice ; that Adherbal had 
formed designs against his life, on discovering which, he had 
counteracted his malice ; that the Eomans would act neither 
justly nor reasonably, if they withheld from him the com- 
mon right of nations 2 ; and, in. conclusion, that he would 
soon send ambassadors to Eome to explain the whole of his 
proceedings." On this understanding, both parties sepa- 
rated. Of addressing Adherbal the deputies had no oppor- 
tunity. 

XXIII. 4 - Jugurtha, as soon as he thought that they had 
quitted Africa, surrounded the walls of Cirta, which, from the 
nature of its situation, he was unable to take by assault, with 
a rampart and a trench ; he also erected towers, and manned 
them with soldiers ; he made attempts on the place, by force 
or by stratagem, day and night ; he held out bribes, and some- 
times menaces, to the besieged : he roused his men, by ex- 
hortations, to efforts of valour, and resorted, with the utmost 
perseverance, to every possible expedient. 

1 XXII. Told much less than the truth] Sed is rumor clemens erat. " It fell 
below the truth, not telling the whole of the atrocity that had been committed." 

; Gruter. " Priscian (xviii., 26) interprets clemens 'non nimius,' alluding to this 
passage of Sallust." Kritzius. All the later commentators have adopted this in- 
terpretation, except Burnouf, who adopts the supposition of Ciacconius, that a 
vague and uncertain rumour is meant. 

2 Right of nations] Jure gentium. " That is, the right of avenging himself." 
Rupertus. 



112 SALLUST. 

Adherbal, on the other hand, seeing that his affairs were in 
a desperate condition, that his enemy was determined on his 
ruin, that there was no hope of succour, and that the siege, 
from want of provisions, could not long be protracted, selected, 
from among those who had fled with him to Cirta, two of his 
most resolute supporters, whom he induced, by numerous 
promises, and an affecting representation of his distress, to 
make their way in the night, through the enemy's lines, to 
the nearest point of the coast, and from thence to Borne. 

XXIV. The Numidians, in a few days, executed their com- 
mission ; and a letter from Adherbal was read in the senate, 
of which the following was the purport : 

"It is not through my own fault, Conscript Fathers, that 
I so often send requests to you ; but the violence of Jugurtha 
compels me ; whom so strong a desire for my destruction has 
seized, that he pays no regard 1 either to you or to the im- 
mortal gods : my blood he covets beyond everything. Five 
months, in consequence, have I, the ally and friend of the 
Roman people, been besieged with an armed force ; neither 
the remembrance of my father Micipsa's benefits, nor your 
decrees, are of any avail for my relief; and whether I am 
more closely pressed by the sword or by famine, I am unable 
to say. 

" From writing further concerning Jugurtha, my present 
condition 'deters me ; for I have experienced, even before 3 , 
that little credit is given to the unfortunate. Tet I can per- 
ceive that his views extend further than to myself, and that 
he does not expect to possess, at the same time, your friend- 
ship and my kingdom ; which of the two he thinks the more 
desirable, must be manifest to every one. For, in the first 
place, he murdered my brother Hiempsal ; and, in the next, 
expelled me from my dominions ; which, however, may be re- 
garded as our own wrongs, and as having no reference to 
you. But now he occupies your kingdom with an army ; he 
keeps me, whom you appointed a king over the Numidians, 
in a state of blockade ; and in what estimation he holds the 
words of your ambassadors, my perils may serve to show. 

1 XXIV. Pays no regard] Neque — in ammo habeat. This letter of Adher- 
bal's, both in matter and tone, is very similar to his speech in c. 14. 

3 I have experienced, even before] Jam antea expertus sum. He means, in the 
result of his speech to the senate. 



THE JUGTTIiTHItfE WAR. 113 

What then is left, except your arms, that can make an im- 
pression upon him ? 

" I could wish, indeed, that what I now write, as well as 
the complaints which I lately made before the senate, were 
false, rather than that my present distresses should confirm 
the truth of my statements. But since I am born to be an 
example of Jugurtha' s villany, I do not now beg a release 
from death or distress, but only from the tyranny of an 
enemy, and from bodily torture. Respecting the kingdom 
of Numidia, which is your own property, determine as you 
please, but if the memory of my grandfather Masinissa is 
still cherished by you, deliver me, I intreat you, by the ma- 
jesty of your empire, and by the sacred ties of friendship, 
from the inhuman hands of Jugurtha." 

XXV. When this letter was read, there were some who 
thought that an army should be despatched into Africa, and 
relief afforded to Adherbal, as soon as possible ; and that the 
senate, in the mean time, should give judgment on the con- 
duct of Jugurtha, in not haying obeyed the ambassadors. 
But by the partisans of Jugurtha, the same that had before 
supported his cause, effectual exertions were made to pre- 
vent any decree from being passed ; and thus the public in- 
terest, as is too frequently the case, was defeated by private 
influence. 

An embassy was, however, despatched into Africa, consist- 
ing of men of advanced years, and of noble birth, and who 
had filled the highest offices of the state ; among whom was 
Marcus Scaurus, already mentioned, a man who had held the 
consulship, and who was at that time chief of the senate 1 . 
These ambassadors, as their business was an affair of public 
odium, and as they were urged by the entreaties of the jNumi- 
dians, embarked in three days ; and having soon arrived at 
Utica, sent a letter from thence to Jugurtha, desiring him 

1 XXV. Chief of the senate] Princeps senatus. " He whose name was first 
entered in the censors' books was called Princeps Senatus, which title used to be 
. given to the person who of those alive had been censor first {qui primus censor, 
ex iis qui viverent, fuissef), but after the year 544, to him whom the censors 
thought most worthy, Liv. xxvii., 13. This dignity, although it conferred no 
command or emolument, was esteemed the very highest, and was usually retained 
for life, Liv. xxxiv., 44; xxxix., 52. It is called Principatus ; and hence after- 
wards the Emperor was named Princeps, which word properly denotes rank, and 
not power." Adam's Rom. Antiq., p. 3. 

I 



114 SALLTJST. 

" to coine to the province as quickly as possible, as they were 
deputed by the senate to meet him." 

Jugurtha, when he found that men of eminence, whose 
influence at Eome he knew to be powerful, were come to put 
a stop to his proceedings, was at first perplexed, and distracted 
between fear and cupidity. He dreaded the displeasure of 
the senate, if he should disobey the ambassadors ; while his 
eager spirit, blinded by the lust of power, hurried him on to 
complete the injustice which he had begun. At length the 
evil incitements of ambition prevailed 1 . He accordingly 
drew his army round the city of Cirta, and endeavoured, with 
his utmost efforts, to force an entrance ; having the strongest 
hopes, that, by dividing the attention of the enemy's troops, 
he should be able, by force or artifice, to secure an oppor- 
tunity of success. When his attempts, however, were un- 
availing, and he found himself unable, as he had designed, to 
get Adherbal into his power before he met the ambassadors, 
fearing that, by further delay, he might irritate Scaurus, of 
whom he stood in great dread, he proceeded with a small 
body of cavalry into the Province. Yet, though serious 
menaces were repeated to him in the name of the senate, 
because he had not desisted from the siege, nevertheless, after 
spending a long time in conference, the ambassadors departed 
without making any impression upon him. 

XXVI. When news of this result was brought to Cirta, 
the Italians 3 , by whose exertions the city had been defended, 
and who trusted that, if a surrender were made, they would 
be able, from respect to the greatness of the Roman power, 
to escape without personal injury, advised Adherbal to deliver 
himself and the city to Jugurtha, stipulating only that his 
life should be spared, and leaving all other matters to the 
care of the senate. Adherbal, though he thought nothing 
less trustworthy than the honour of Jugurtha, yet, knowing 
that those who advised could also compel him if he resisted, 
surrendered the place according to their desire. Jugurtha" 
immediately proceeded to put Adherbal to death with torture, 
and massacred all the inhabitants that were of age, whether 
Numidians or Italians, as each fell in the way of his troops. 

1 At length the evil incitements of ambition prevailed] Yicit tomen in avido 
ingmio pravum consilium. " Evil propensities gained the ascendancy in his am- 
bitious disposition." 

2 XXVL The Italians] Italici, See c. 2L 






THE JT7GT7BTHINE WAR, 115 

XXVII. "When this outrage was reported at Koine, and 
became a matter of discussion in the senate, the former 
partisans of Jugurtha applied themselves, by interrupting 
the debates and protracting the time, sometimes exerting 
their interest, and sometimes quarrelling with particular 
members, to palliate the atrocity of the deed. And had not 
Cams Memmius, one of the tribunes of the people elect, a 
man of energy, and hostile to the power of the nobility, con- 
vinced the people of Some that an attempt was being made, 
by the agency of a small faction, to have the crimes of Ju- 
gurtha pardoned, it is certain that the public indignation 
against him would have passed off under the protraction of 
the debates ; so powerful was party interest, and the influence 
of Jugurtha' s money. When the senate, however, from con- 
sciousness of misconduct, became afraid of the people, Nu- 
midia and Italy, by the Sempronian law 1 , were appointed as 
provinces to the succeeding consuls, who were declared to be 
Publius Scipio Xasica 3 , and Lucius Bestia Calpurnius 3 . 
Numidia fell to Calpurnius, and Italy to Scipio. An army 
was then raised to be sent into Africa ; and pay, and all other 
necessaries of war, were decreed for its use. 

XXVIII. When Jugurtha received this news, which was 
utterly at variance with his expectations, as he had felt con- 
vinced that all things were purchasable at Home, he sent 
his son, with two of his friends, as deputies to the senate, 
and directed them, like those whom he had sent on the mur- 
der of Hiempsal, to attack everybody with bribes. Upon 

1 XXVII. By the Sempronian law] Lege Sempronid. This was the Lex Sein- 
pronia de Provinciis. In the early ages of the republic, the provinces were 
decreed by the senate to the consuls after they were elected ; but by this law, 
passed a.u.c. 631, the senate fixed on two provinces for the future consuls before 
their election (Cic. Pro Dom., 9; De Prov. Cons., 2), which they, after entering 
on their office, divided between themselves by lot or agreement. The law was 
passed by Caius Gracchus. See Adam's Eom. Antiq., p. 105. 

2 Publius Scipio Nasica] " The great-grandson of him who was pronounced by 
the senate to be vir optimus ; and son of him who, though holding no office at the 
time, took part in putting to death Tiberius Gracchus. He was consul with Bestia, 
A.u.c. 643, and died in his consulship. Cic. Brut., 34." Burnouf. 

3 Lucius Bestia Calpurnius] " He had been on the side of the nobility against 
the Gracchi, and was therefore in favour with the senate. After his consulship 
he was accused and condemned by the Mamilian law (c. 40), for having received 
money from Jugurtha, Cic. Brut. c. 34. De Brosses thinks that he was the 
grandfather of that Bestia who was engaged in the conspiracy of Catiline." 
Burnouf. 

i2 



116 SALLTJST. * HT 

the approach of these deputies to Borne, the senate was con- 
sulted by Bestia, whether they would allow them to be ad- 
mitted within the gates ; and the senate decreed, "that, un- 
less they came to surrender Jugurtha's kingdom and himself', 
they must quit Italy within the ten following days." The 
consul directed this decree to be communicated to the $$w 
midians, who consequently returned home without effecting 
their object. 

Calpurnius, in the mean time, having raised an army, chose 
for his officers men of family and intrigue, hoping that what- 
ever faults he might commit, would be screened by their in- 
fluence ; and among these was Scaurus, of whose disposition 
and character we have already spoken. There were, indeed, 
in our consul Calpurnius, many excellent qualities, both 
mental and personal, though avarice interfered with the ex- 
ercise of them ; he w r as patient of labour, of a penetrating 
intellect, of great foresight, not inexperienced in war, and 
extremely vigilant against danger and surprise. 

The troops were conducted through Italy to Rhegium, 
from thence to Sicily, and from Sicily into Africa ; and Cal- 
purnius' s first step, after collecting provisions, was to invade 
jSTumidia with spirit, where he took many prisoners, and 
several towns, by force of arms. 

XXIX. But when Jugurtha began, through his emissaries, 
to tempt him with bribes, and to show the difficulties of the 
war which he had undertaken to conduct, his mind, corrupted 
with avarice, was easily altered. His accomplice, however, 
and manager in all his schemes, was Scaurus ; who, though 
he had at first, when most of his party were corrupted, dis- 
played violent hostility to Jugurtha, yet was afterwards 
seduced, by a vast sum of money, from integrity and honour 
to injustice and perfidy. Jugurtha, however, at first sought 
only to purchase a suspension of hostilities, expecting to be 
able, during the interval, to make some favourable impres- 
sion, either by bribery or by interest, at Borne ; but when 
he heard that Scaurus was co-operating with Calpurnius, he 
was elated with great hopes of regaining peace, and resolved 
upon a conference with them in person respecting the terms 
of it. In the mean time, for the sake of giving confidence 1 

1 XXIX. For the sake of giving confidence] Fidel caasd. " In order that 
Jugurtha might have confidence in Bestia, Sextius the quaestor was sent as a 
sort of hostage into one of Jugurtha's towns." Cortius. 



THE JUGURTHIKE WAE. 117 

to Jugurtha, Sextus the quaestor was despatched by the con- 
sul to Vaga, one of the prince's towns ; the pretext for his 
journey being the receiving of corn, which Calpurnius had 
openly demanded from Jugurtha's emissaries, on the ground 
that a truce was observed through their delay to make a 
surrender. Jugurtha then, as he had determined, paid a 
visit to the consul's camp, where, having made a short ad- 
dress to the council, respecting the odium cast upon his con- 
duet, and his desire for a capitulation, he arranged other 
matters with Bestia and Scaurus in secret ; and the next 
day, as if by an evident majority of voices 1 , he was formally 
allowed to surrender. But, as was demanded in the hearing 
of the council, thirty elephants, a considerable number of 
cattle and horses, and a small sum of money, were delivered 
into the hands of the quaestor. Calpurnius then returned to 
Borne to preside at the election of magistrates 2 , and peace 
was observed throughout JNumidia and the Boman army. 

XXX. "When rumour had made known the affairs trans- 
acted in Africa, and the mode in which they had been 
brought to pass, the conduct of the consul became a subject 
of discussion in every place and company at Borne. Among 
the people there was violent indignation ; as to the senators, 
whether they would ratify so flagitious a proceeding, or annul 
the act of the consul, was a matter of doubt. The influence 
of Scaurus, as he was said to be the supporter and accomplice 
of Bestia, was what chiefly restrained the senate from acting 

1 As if by an evident majority of voices] Quasi per saturam exquisitis sen~ 
tentiis. " The opinions being taken in a confused manner," or, as we say, in the 
lump. The sense manifestly is, that there was (or was said to be) such a pre- 
ponderating majority in Jugurtha's favour, that it was not necessary to ask the 
opinion of each individual in order. Satura, which some think to be always an 
adjective, with lanx understood, though lanx, according to Scheller, is never 
found joined with it in ancient authors, was a plate filled with various kinds of 
fruit, such as was annually offered to the gods. " Lanx plena diversis frugibus in 

templum Cereris infertur, quae satura nomine appellatur," Acron. ad Hor. Sat. 
i., 1, init. "Lanx, referta variis multisque primitiis, sacris Cereris inferebatur," 
Diomed. hi., p. 483. " Satura, cibi genus ex variis rebus conditum," Festus sub 
voce. See Casaubon. de Eom. Satira, ii., 4; Kritzius ad h. 1., and Scheller's 
Lex. v , Satur. In the Pref. to Justinian's Pandects, that work is called opus 
sparsim et quasi per saturam collectum, utile cum inutilibus mixtim. 

2 To preside at the election of magistrates] Ad rnagistratus rogandos. The 
presiding magistrate had to ask the consent of the people, saying Velitis,jubeatis, 
— rogo, Quirites. 



118 SALLTJST. 

with justice and honour. But Caius Memmius, of whose 
boldness of spirit, and hatred to the power of the nobility, I 
have already spoken, excited the people by his harangues, 
during the perplexity and delay of the senators, to take ven- 
geance on the authors of the treaty ; he exhorted them not 
to abandon the public interest or their own liberty ; he set 
before them the many tyrannical and violent proceedings of 
the nobles, and omitted no art to inflame the popular pas- 
sions. But as the eloquence of Memmius, at that period, 
had great reputation and influence, I have thought proper to 
give in full 1 one out of many of his speeches ; and I take, in 
preference to others, that which he delivered in the assembly 
of the people, after the return of Bestia, in words to the 
following effect : 

XXXI. "I Were not my zeal for the good of the state, my 
fellow-citizens," superior to every other feeling, there are many 
considerations which would deter me from appearing in your 
cause ; I allude to the power of the opposite party, your 
own tameness of spirit, the absence of all justice, and, above 
all, the fact that integrity is attended with more danger than 
honour. Indeed, it grieves me to relate, how, during the last 
fifteen years 3 , you have been a sport to the arrogance of an 
oligarchy ; how dishonourably, and how utterly unavenged, 
your defenders have perished 3 ; and how your spirit has 
become degenerate by sloth and indolence ; for not even 

1 XXX. To give in full] Perscribere. " To write at length." The reader 
might suppose, at first, that Sallust transcribed this speech from some publica- 
tion ; but in that case, as Burnouf observes, he would rather have said exscribere. 
Besides, the following hujuscemodi shows that Sallust did not profess to give the 

. exact words of Memmius. And the speech is throughout marked with Sallustian 
phraseology. " The commencement of it, there is little doubt, is imitated from 
Cato, of whose speech de Lusitanis the following fragment is extant in Aul. Gell. 
xiii., 24: Midta me dehortata sunt hue prodire, anni, cetas, vox, vires, senectus.''' 
Kritzius. 

2 XXXI. During the last fifteen years] His annis quhidecim. " It was at 
this time, a.u.c. 641, twenty-two years since the death of Tiberius Gracchus, and 
ten since that of Caius ; Sallust, or Memmius, not to appear to make too nice a 
computation, takes a mean." Burnouf. The manuscripts, however, vary ; some 
rt^ fifteen, and others twelve. Cortius conjectured twenty, as a rounder number, 
which Kritzius and Dietsch have inserted in their texts. Twenty is also found in 
the Editio Victoriana, Florence, 1576. 

3 Your defenders have perished] Perierint vest r I defensores. Tiberius and 
Caius Gracchus, and their adherents. 



THE JUGURTHINE WAR. 119 

now, when your enemies are in your power, will you rouse 
yourselves to action, but continue still to stand in awe of 
those to whom you should be a terror. 

"CZet, notwithstanding this state of things, I feel prompted 
to make an attack on the power of that faction. That liberty 
of speech 1 , therefore, which has been left me by my father, I 
shall assuredly exert against them : but whether I shall use 
it in vain, or for your advantage, must, my fellow-citizens, 
depend upon yourselves. I do not, however, exhort you, as 
your ancestors have often done, to rise in arms against in- 
justice. There is at present no need of violence, no need of 
secession ; for your tyrants must work their fall by their own 
misconduct. 

'"After the murder of Tiberius Gracchus, whom they 
accused of aspiring to be king, persecutions were instituted 
against the common people of Rome ; and after the slaughter 
of Caius Gracchus and Marcus Eulvius, many of your order 
were put to death in prison. But let us leave these pro- 
ceedings out of the question ; let us admit that to restore 
their rights to the people, was to aspire to sovereignty ; let 
us allow that what cannot be avenged without shedding the 
blood of citizens, was done with justice. You have seen 
with silent indignation, however, in past years, the treasury 
pillaged ; you have seen kings, and free people, paying tribute 
to a small party of Patricians, in whose hands were both the 
highest honours and the greatest wealth ; but to have carried 
on such proceedings with impunity, they now deem but a 
small matter ; and, at last, your laws and your honour, with 
every civil and religious obligation 2 , have been sacrificed for 
the benefit of your enemies. Nor do they, who have done 
these things, show either shame or contrition, but parade 
proudly before your faces, displaying their sacerdotal dig- 
nities, their consulships, and some of them their triumphs, 
as if they regarded them as marks of honour, and not as 
fruits of their dishonesty. Slaves, purchased with money 3 , 

1 Liberty of speech] Libertatem. Liberty of speech is evidently intended. 

2 Every civil and religious obligation] Divina et humana omnia. " They 
offended against the laws, when they took bribes from an enemy; against the 
honour of Borne, when they did what was unworthy of it, and greatly to its 
injury ; and against gods and men, against all divine and human obh'gations, 
when they granted to a wicked prince not only impunity, but even rewards, for 
his crimes." Dietsch. 

3 Slaves purchased with money, cf-c] Servi, cereparati, <§c. This is taken from 



120 SALLUST. 

will not submit to unjust commands from their masters ; yet 
you, my fellow- citizens, who are born to empire, tamely 
endure oppression. 

jf But who are these, that have thus taken the government 
into their hands? Men of the most abandoned character, 
of blood-stained hands, of insatiable avarice, of enormous 
guilt, and of matchless pride ; men by whom integrity, repu- 
tation, public spirit 1 , and indeed everything, whether honour- 
able or dishonourable, is converted to a means of gain. Some 
of them make it their defence that they have killed tribunes 
of the people; others, that they have instituted unjust pro- 
secutions ; others, that they have shed your blood ; and 
thus, the more atrocities each has committed, the greater 
is his security ; while your oppressors, whom the same de- 
sires, the same aversions, and the same fears, combine in 
strict union (a union which among good men is friendship, 
but among the bad confederacy in guilt), have excited in 
you, through your want of spirit, that terror which they 
ought to feel for their own crimes. 

" But if your concern to preserve your liberty were as great 
as their ardour to increase their power of oppression, the 
state would not be distracted as it is at present; and the 
marks of favour which proceed from you 3 , would be con- 
ferred, not on the most shameless, but on the most deserving. 
Your forefathers, in order to assert their rights and establish 
their authority, twice seceded in arms to Mount Aventine ; 
and will not you exert yourselves, to the utmost of your 
power, in defence of that liberty which you received from 
them ? Will you not display so much the more spirit in the 
cause, from the reflection that it is a greater disgrace to lose 3 
what has been gained, than not to have gained it at all ? 

another speech of Cato, of which a portion is preserved in Aul. Gell. x., 3: Servi 
injurias nimis cegreferunt; quidillos bono genere natos, magna virtute prceditos, 
animi habuisse atone habituros, dum vivent ? " Slaves are apt to be too impatient 
of injuries; and what feelings do you. think that men of good family, and of 
great merit, must have had, and will have as long as they live?" 

1 Public spirit] Pietas. Under this word are included all duties that we ought 
to perform to those with whom we are intimately connected, or on whom we are 
dependent, as our parents, our country, and the gods. I have borrowed my 
translation of the word from Rose. 

2 The marks of favour which proceed from you] Beneficm vestra. Offices of 
state, civil and military. 

3 A greater disgrace to lose, cj-c] Quod majus dedecus estparta amittere qiiam 



THE JUGUETHI^E WAE. 121 

'< But some will ask me, ' What course of conduct, then, 
would you advise us to pursue ?' I would advise you to 
inflict punishment on those who have sacrificed the interests 
of their country to the enemy ; not, indeed, by arms, or any 
violence (which would be more unbecoming, however, for 
you to inflict than for them to suffer), but by prosecutions, 
and by the evidence of Jugurtha himself, who, if he has 
really surrendered, wall doubtless obey your summons ; 
whereas, if he shows contempt for it, you will at once judge 
what sort of a peace or surrender it is, from which springs 
impunity to Jugurtha for his crimes, immense wealth to a 
few men in power, and loss and infamy to the republic. 

" But perhaps you are not yet weary of the tyranny of 
these men ; perhaps these times please you less than those 1 
when kingdoms, provinces, laws, rights, the administration of 
justice, war and peace, and indeed everything civil and re- 
ligious, was in the hands of an oligarchy ; while you, that is, 
the people of Borne, though unconquered by foreign enemies, 
and rulers of all nations around, were content with being 
allowed to live ; for which of you had spirit to throw off your 
slavery ? For myself, indeed, though I think it most dis- 
graceful to receive an injury without resenting it, yet I could 
easily allow you to pardon these basest of traitors, because 
they are your fellow-citizens, were it not certain that your 
indulgence would end in your destruction. For such is their 
presumption, that to escape punishment for their misdeeds 
will have but little effect upon them, unless they be deprived, 
at the same time, of the power of doing mischief ; and endless 
anxiety will remain for you, if you shall have to reflect that 
you must either be slaves or preserve your liberty by force 
of arms. 

" Of mutual trust, or concord, what hope is there ? They 
wish to be lords, you desire to be free ; they seek to inflict 
injury, you to repel it; they treat your allies as enemies, 

omnino non paravisse. *Ai(T)(iov de €)(OVTas d<paip€0rjvai rj KTapepovs 
drv)(rj(TaL. Thucyd. ii., 62. 

1 These times please you less than those, cje.] Ilia quam hcec tempora magis 
placent, #c. " Those times, which immediately succeeded the deaths of the 
Gracchi, and which were distinguished for the tyranny of the nobles, and the 
humiliation of the people ; these times, in which the people have begun to rouse 
their spirit and exert their liberty." Burnouf. 



122 SALLTJST. 

your enemies as allies. "With feelings so opposite, can peace 
or friendship subsist between you ? I warn, therefore, and 
exhort you, not to allow such enormous dishonesty to go un- 
punished. It is not an embezzlement of the public money 1 
that has been committed ; nor is it a forcible extortion of 
money from your allies ; offences which, though great, are 
now, from their frequency, considered as nothing ; but the 
authority of the senate, and your own power, have been 
sacrificed to the bitterest of enemies, and the public interest 
has been betrayed for money, both at home and abroad ; and 
unless these misdeeds be investigated, and punishment be 
inflicted on the guilty, what remains for us but to live the 
slaves of those who committed them ? For those who do 
what they will with impunity are undoubtedly kings 3 . 

" I do not, however, wish to encourage you, Romans, to 
be better satisfied at finding your fellow-citizens guilty than 
innocent, but merely to warn you not to bring ruin on the 
good, by suffering the bad to escape. It is far better, in any 
government, to be unmindful of a service than of an injury ; 
for a good man, if neglected, only becomes less active ; but a 
bad man, more daring. Besides, if the crimes of the wicked 
are suppressed 3 , the state will seldom need extraordinary 
support from the virtuous." 

XXXII. By repeating these and similar sentiments, Mem- 
mius prevailed on the people to send Lucius Cassius 4 , who 

1 Embezzlement of the public money] Peculatus cerarii. " Peculator, qui 
furtum facit pecuniae publicse." Ascon. Pedian. in Cic. Verr. i. 

2 Kings] I have substituted the plural for the singular. " No name was more 
hated at Rome than that of a king; and no sentiment, accordingly, could have 
been better adapted to inflame the minds of Memmius's hearers, than that which 
he here utters." Dietsch. 

3 If the crimes of the wicked are suppressed, &rc.~\ Si injur ice non sint, haud 
scepe auxilii egeas. " Some foolishly interpret auxilium as signifying auxilium 
tribunicium, the aid of the tribunes ; but it is evident to me that Sallust means 
aid against the injuries of bad men, i. e. revenge or punishment." Kritzins. " If 
injuries are repressed, or prevented, there will be less need for the help of good 
men, and it will be of less consequence if they become inactive." Dietsch. 

4 XXXII. Lucius Cassius] This is the man from whom came the common 
saying cui bono ? " Lucius Cassius, whom the Eoman people thought the most 
accurate and wisest of judges, was accustomed constantly to inquire, in the 
progress of a cause, cui bono fuisset, of what advantage anything had been." 
Cic. pro Rose. Am. 30. " His tribunal," says Valerius Maximus (hi., 7), "was 
called, from his excessive severity, the rock of the accused." It was probably 
on account of this quality in his character that he was now sent into Numidia. 



THE JUGMJRTHIKE WAE. 123 

was then praetor, to Jugurtha, and to bring him, under 
guarantee of the public faith 1 , to Eome, in order that, by the 
prince's evidence, the misconduct of Seaurus and the rest, 
whom they charged with having taken bribes, might more 
easily be made manifest. 

During the course of these proceedings at Eome, those 
whom Bestia had left in JSTumidia in command of the army, 
' following the example of their general, had been guilty of 
many scandalous transactions. Some, seduced by gold, had 
restored Jugurtha his elephants ; others had sold him his 
deserters; others had ravaged the lands of those at peace 
with us ; so strong a spirit of rapacity, like the contagion of 
a pestilence, had pervaded the breasts of all. 

Cassius, when the measure proposed by Memmius had 
been carried, and whilst all the nobility were in consterna- 
tion, set out on his mission to Jugurtha, whom, alarmed as 
he was, and despairing of his fortune, from a sense of guilt, 
he admonished " that, since he had surrendered himself to 
the Romans, he had better make trial of their mercy than 
their power." He also pledged his own word, which Jugurtha 
valued not less than that of the public, for his safety. Such, 
at that period, was the reputation of Cassius. 

XXXIII. Jugurtha, accordingly, accompanied Cassius to 

/Eome, but without any mark of royalty, and in the garb, as 
much as possible, of a suppliant 2 : and, though he felt great 
confidence on his own part, and was supported by all those 
through whose power or villany he had accomplished his pro- 
1 jects, he purchased, by a vast bribe, the aid of Caius Baebius, 
a tribune of the people, by whose audacity he hoped to be 
protected against the law, and against all harm. 

An assembly of the people being convoked, Memmius, ; 
although they were violently exasperated against Jugurtha, 
(some demanding that he should be cast into prison, others 
that, unless he should name his accomplices in guilt, he should 
be put to death, according to the usage of their ancestors, 

1 Under guarantee of the public faith] Interposita fide publico,. See Cat. 
47, 48. So a little below, fidem suam interponit. Interpono is "to pledge." 

2 XXXIII. In the garb, as much as possible, of a suppliant] Cultu quam 
maxime miserabili. " In such a garb as accused persons, or suppliants, were 
accustomed to adopt, when they wished to excite compassion, putting on a mean 
dress, and allowing their hair and beard to grow." Burnouf. 



124 t«AV sallust. 

as a public enemy), yet, regarding rather their character than 
their resentment, endeavoured to calm their turbulence and 
mitigate their rage ; and assured them that, as far as depended 
on him, the public faith should not be broken. At length, 
when silence was obtained, he brought forward Jugurtha, and 
addressed them. He detailed the misdeeds of Jugurtha at 
Kome and in Numidia, and set forth his crimes towards his 
father and brothers ; and admonished the prince, " thart the 
Roman people, though they were well aware by whose sup- 
port and agency he had acted, yet desired further testimony 
from himself; that, if he disclosed the truth, there was great 
hope for him in the honour and clemency of the [Romans; 
but if he concealed it, he would certainly not save his accom- 
plices, but ruin himself and his hopes for ever." 

XXXIV. But when Memmius had concluded his speech, 
and Jugurtha was expected to give his answer, Caius Bsebius, 
the tribune of the people, whom I have just noticed as having 
been bribed, enjoined the prince to hold his peace 1 ; and 
though the multitude, who formed the assembly, were 
desperately enraged, and endeavoured to terrify the tribune 
by outcries, by angry looks, by violent gestures, and by every 
other act to which anger prompts 3 , his audacity was at last 

1 XXXIV. Enjoined the prince to hold his peace] A single tribune might, by 
such intervention, offer an effectual opposition to almost any proceeding. On the 
great power of the tribunes, see Adam's Kom. Ant., under the head " Tribunes of 
the People." 

2 Every other act to which anger prompts] Aliis omnibus, quce ira fieri amat. 
" These words have given rise to wonderful hallucinations ; for Quintilian, ix., 3, 17, 
having observed that many expressions of Sallust are borrowed from the Greek, as 
Vulgus amat fieri, all interpreters, from Cortius downwards, have thought that 
the structure of Sallust's words must be Greek, and have taken ira, in this 
passage, for an ablative, and quce for a nominative plural. Gerlach has even 
gone so far as to take liberties with the words cited by Quintilian, and to correct 
them, please the gods, into quce in vulgus amat fieri. But how could there have 
been such want of penetration in learned critics, such deficiency in the knowledge of 
the two languages, that, when the imitation of the Greek, noticed by Quintilian, 
has reference merely to the word cpikti, amat, they should think of extending it 
to the dependence of a singular verb on a neuter plural? With truth, indeed, 
though with much simplicity, does Gerlach observe, that you will in vain seek for 
instances of this mode of expression in other writers.'' Kritzhis. Dietsch agrees 
with Kritzius ; and there will, I hope, be no further doubt that that quce is the ac- 
cusative and ira the nominative; the sense being, " which anger loves or desires to 
be done." Another mode of explanation has been suggested ; namely, to under- 
stand multitudo as the nominative case to amat, making ira the ablative ; but this 



THE JUGUETHINE WAR. 125 

triumphant. The people, mocked and set at nought, with- 
drew from the place of assembly ; and the confidence of Ju- 
gurtha, Bestia, and the others, whom this investigation had 
alarmed, was greatly augmented. 

XXXV. There was at this period in Some a certain Nu- 
midian named Massiva, a son of Grulussa and grandson of 
Masinissa, who, from having been, in the dissensions among 
the princes, opposed to Jugurtha, had been obliged, after the 
surrender of Cirta and the murder of Adherbal, to make his 
escape out of Africa. Spurius Albinus, who was consul with 
Quintus Minucius Eufus the year after Bestia, prevailed upon 
this man, as he was of the family of Masinissa, and as odium 
and terror hung over Jugurtha for his crimes, to petition the 
senate for the kingdom of jNTumidia. Albinus, being eager 
for the conduct of a war, was desirous that affairs should be 
disturbed 1 , rather than sink into tranquillity 5 especially as, 
in the division of the provinces, jSTumidia had fallen to him- 
self, and Macedonia to Minucius. 

When Massiva proceeded to carry these suggestions into 
execution, Jugurtha, finding that he had no sufficient support 
in his friends, as a sense of guilt deterred some, and evil 
report or timidity others, from coming forward in his behalf, 
directed Bomilcar, his most attached and faithful adherent, 
to procure by the aid of money, by which he had already 
effected so much, assassins to kill Massiva ; and to do it 
secretly if he could ; but, if secrecy should be impossible, to 
cut him off in any way whatsoever. This commission Bomil- 
car soon found means to execute ; and, by the agency of men 
versed in such service, ascertained the direction of his journeys, 
his hours of leaving home, and the times at which he resorted 
to particular places 2 , and, when all was ready, placed his 
assassins in ambush. One of their number sprung upon 
Massiva, though with too little caution, and killed him ; but 
being himself caught, he made, at the instigation of many, 

method is far more cumbersome, and less in accordance with the style of Sallust. 
The words quoted by Quintilian do not refer, as Cortius erroneously supposes, to 
this passage, but to some part of Sallust's works that is now lost. 

1 XXXV. Should be disturbed] Movere is the reading of Cortius; m over i that 
of most other editors, in conformity with most of the MSS. and early editions. 

2 The times at which he resorted to particular places] Loca atque tempora 
cuncta. " All his places and times." There can be no doubt that the sense is 
what I have given in the text. 



126 SALLUST. 

and especially of Albums the consul, a full confession. Bo- 
milcar was accordingly committed for trial, though rather on 
the principles of reason and justice than in accordance with 
the law of nations 1 , as he was in the retinue of one who had 
come to Borne on a pledge of the public faith for his safety. 
But Jugurtha, though clearly guilty of the crime, did not 
cease to struggle against the truth, until he perceived that 
the infamy of the deed was too strong for his interest or his 
money. For which reason, although, at the commencement 
of the proceedings 2 , he had given fifty of his friends as bail 
for Bomilcar, yet, thinking more of his kingdom than of the 
sureties, he sent him off privately into Numidia ; for he 
feared that if such a man should be executed, his other sub- 
jects would be deterred from obeying him 3 . A few days 
after, he himself departed, having been ordered by the senate 
to quit Italy. But, as he was going from Borne, he is said, 
after frequently looking back on it in silence, to have at last 
exclaimed, " That it was a venal city, and would soon perish, 
if it could but find a purchaser 4 !" 

XXXVI. The war being now renewed, Albinus hastened 

1 In accordance with the law of nations, <{■<?.] As the public faith had been 
pledged to Jugurtha for his security, his retinue was on the same footing as that 
of ambassadors, the persons of whose attendants are considered as inviolable as 
their own, as long as they commit no offence against the laws of the country in 
which they are resident. If any such offence is committed by an attendant of an 
ambassador, an application is usually made by the government to the ambassador 
to deliver him up for trial. Bomilcar seems to have been apprehended without 
any application having been made to Jugurtha ; as, in our own country, the Por- 
tuguese ambassador's brother, who was one of his retinue, was apprehended and 
executed for a murder, by Oliver Cromwell. See, on this point, Grotius De Jure 
Bell, et Pac. xviii., 8; Vattel, iv., 9; Burlamaqui on Politic Law, part iv., 
ch. 15. Jugurtha, says Vattel, should have given up Bomilcar ; but such was not 
Jugurtha's object. 

2 At the commencement of the proceedings] In priori actione. That is, when 
Bomilcar was apprehended and charged with the murder. 

3 His other subjects would be deterred from obeying him] Reliquos popularis 
metus invaderet parendi sibi. " Fear of obeying him should take possession of his 
other subjects." 

4 That it was a venal city, cf-c] Urbem venalem, cj-c. I consider, with Cortius, 
that this is the proper way of taking these words. Some would render them 
venal city, cf-c, because Livy, Epit. lxiv., has urbem venalem, but this seems to 
require that the verb should be in the second person ; and it is probable that in 
Livy we should either eject the or read inveneris. Florus, iii., 1, gives the 
words in the same way as Sallust. 



THE JUaTJETHINE TV1E. 127 

to transport provisions, money, and otlier things necessary 
for the army, into Africa, whither he himself soon followed, 
with the hope that, before the time of the comitia, which was 
not far distant, he might be able, by an engagement, by capi- 
tulation, or by some other method, to bring the contest to a 
conclusion. Jugurtha, on the other hand, tried every means 
of protracting the war, continually inventing new causes 
for delay : at one time he promised to surrender, at another 
he feigned distrust; he retreated when Albinus attacked 
him, and then, lest his men should lose courage, attacked in 
return, and thus amused the consul with alternate procrasti- 
nations of war and of peace. 

There were some, at that time, who thought that Albinus 
understood Jugurtha' s object, and who believed that so ready 
a protraction of the war, after so much haste at the com- 
mencement, was to be attributed less to tardiness than to 
treachery. However this might be, Albinus, when time passed 
on, and the day of the comitia approached, left his brother 
Aulus in the camp as propraetor 1 , and returned to Rome. 

XXX TIL The republic, at this time, was grievously dis- 
tracted by the contentions of the tribunes. Two of them, 
Publius Lucullus and Lucius Annius, were struggling, against 
the will of their colleagues, to prolong their term of office ; and 
this dispute put off the comitia throughout the year 2 . In con- 
sequence of this delay, Aulus, who, as I have just said, was left 
as propraetor in the camp, conceiving hopes either of finishing 
the war, or of extorting money from Jugurtha by the terror of 
his army, drew out his troops, in the month of January, from 
their winter- quarters into the field, and by forced marches, 
during severe weather, made his way to the town of Suthul, 
where Jugurtha' s treasures were deposited. And though 
this place, both from the inclemency of the season, and from 
its advantageous situation, could neither be taken nor be- 
sieged ; for around its walls, which were built on the edge of 
a steep hill 3 , a marshy plain, flooded by the rains of winter, 

1 XXXVT. As propraetor] Pro prcetore. With the power of lieutenant-ge- 
neral. 

2 XXXVII. Throughout the year] Totius annl That is, all that remained of 
the year. 

3 On the edge of a steep hill] In prcerupti monlis extremo. a In exiremo a 
scholiast rightly interprets in margine" Gerlach. Cortius, whom Langius fol- 



128 SALLUST. 

had been converted into a lake ; yet Aulus, either as.. a feint 
to strike terror into Jugurtha, or blinded by avarice, began 
to move forward his vinese 1 , to cast up a rampart, and to 
hasten all necessary preparations for a siege. 

XXXVIII. Jugurtha, seeing the propraetor's vanity and 
ignorance, artfully strengthened his infatuation ; he sent him, 
from time to time, deputies with submissive messages, whilst 
he himself, as if desirous to escape, led his army away 
through woody denies and cross-roads. At length he suc- 
ceeded in alluring Aulus, by the prospect of a surrender on 
conditions, to leave Suthul, and pursue him, as if in full re- 
treat, into the remoter parts of the country. Meanwhile, by 
means of skilful emissaries, he tampered night and day with 
our men, and prevailed on some of the officers, both of in- 
fantry and cavalry, to desert to him at once, and upon others 
to quit their posts at a given signal, that their defection 
might thus be less observed 2 . Having prepared matters 
according to his wishes, he suddenly surrounded the camp of 
Aulus, in the dead of night, with a vast body of Numidians. 
The Roman soldiers were alarmed with an unusual distur- 
bance ; some of them seized their arms, others hid themselves, 
others encouraged those that were afraid ; but consternation 
prevailed everywhere ; for the number of the enemy was 
great, the sky was thick with clouds and darkness, the danger 
was indiscernible, and it was uncertain whether it were safer 
to flee or to remain. Of those whom I have just mentioned 
as being bribed, one cohort of Ligurians, with two troops of 

lows, considers that in extremo means at the bottom ; a notion which Kritzius 
justly condemns; for, as Gerlach asks, what would that have to do with the 
strength of the place ? Muller would have us believe that in extremo means at 
the top ; but if Sallust had meant to say that the city was at the top, he would 
hardly have chosen the word extremus for the purpose. Doubtless, as Gerlach 
observes, the city was on the top of the hill, which was broad enough to hold it; 
hut the words in extremo signify that the walls were even with the side of the hill. 
Of the site of the town of Suthul no traces are now to be found. 

1 Vinese] Defences made of hurdles or other wood, and often covered with raw 
hides, to defend the soldiers who worked the battering-ram. The word that comes 
nearest to vinem in our language is mantelets. Before this word, in many editions, 
occurs the phrase ob thesauros oppidi potiundi,wh\cli Cortius,whom I follow, omits. 

2 XXXVIII. That their defection might thus be less observed] Ita delicta 
occultiorafore. Cortius transferred these words to this place from the end of the 
preceding sentence; Kritzius and Dietsch have restored them to their former 
place. Gerlach thinks them an intruded gloss. 



THE JUGtFETHiNE WAB. 



129 



Thracian horse, and a few common soldiers, went over to 
Jugurtha; and the chief centurion 1 of the third legion 
allowed the enemy an entrance at the very post which he 
had been appointed to defend, and at which all the KuMi- 
dians poured into the camp. Our men fled disgracefully, the 
greater part having thrown away their arms, and took pos- 
session of a neighbouring hill. Xight, and the spoil of the 
camp, prevented the enemy from making full use of this 
victory. On the following day, Jugurtha, coming to a con- 
ference with Aulus, told him, " that though he held him 
hemmed in by famine and the sword, yet that, being mindful 
of human vicissitudes, he would, if they would make a treaty 
with him, allow them to depart uninjured ; only that they 
must pass under the yoke, and quit ISTnmidia within ten 
days." These terms were severe and ignominions ; but, as 
death was the alternative 3 , peace was concluded as Jugurtha 
desired. 

XXXIX. When this affair was made known at Eome, 
consternation and dismay pervaded the city ; some were con- 
cerned for the glory of the republic ; others, ignorant of 
war, trembled for their liberty. But all were indignant at 
Aulus, and especially those who had often been distinguished 
in the field, because, with arms in his hands, he had sought 
safety in disgrace rather than in resistance. The consul 
Albinus, apprehending, from the delinquency of his brother, 

1 The chief centurion] Centurio primi pili. There were sixty centurions in a 
Roman legion ; the one here meant was the first, or oldest, centurion of the Triarii, 
or Pilani. 

2 As death was the alternative] Quia mortis metu mutabant. Neither manu- 
scripts nor critics are agreed about this passage. Cortius, from a suggestion of 
Palmerius, adopted mutabant; most other editors have mutdbantur ; hut both are 
to be taken in the same sense ; for mutabant is equivalent to mutabant se. Cortius's 
interpretation appears the most eligible : " Permutabantur cum metuenda morte," 
?. e. there were those conditions on one side, and death on the other, and if they 
did not accept the conditions, they must die. Kritzius fancifully and strangely 
interprets, propter mortis metum se mutabant, i. e. alia videbantur atque erant, 
or the acceptance of the terms appeared excusable to the soldiers, because they 
were threatened with death if they did not accept them. It is worth while to 
notice the variety of readings exhibited in the manuscripts collated by Cortius : 
ten exhibit mutabantur; three, minitabantur ; three, multabantur ; three, tene- 
bantur; one, tenebatur ; one, cogebaniur ; one, cogebatur ; one, angustiabantur ; 
one, urgebantur ; and one, mortis metuebant pericula. There is also, he adds, in . 
some copies, nutabant, which the Bipont editors and Miiller absurdly adopted. 

K 



130 SALLUST. 

odium and danger to himself, consulted the senate on the 
treaty which had been made, but, at the same time, raised 
recruits for the army, sent for auxiliaries to the allies and 
Latins, and made general preparations for war. The senate, 
as was just, decreed, " that no treaty could be made without 
their own consent and that of the people." 

The consul, though he was hindered by the influence of 
the tribunes from taking with him the force which he had 
raised, set out in a few days for the province of Africa, where 
the whole army, being withdrawn, according to the agree- 
ment, from Numidia, had gone into winter-quarters. When 
he arrived there, although he longed to pursue Jugurtha, and 
diminish the odium that had fallen on his brother, yet, when 
he saw the state of the troops, whom, besides the flight and 
relaxation of discipline, licentiousness and debauchery had 
corrupted, he determined, under all the circumstances of the 
case 1 , to attempt nothing. 

XL. At Borne, in the mean time, Caius Mamilius Liine- 
tanus, one of the tribunes, proposed that the people should 
pass a bill for instituting an inquiry into the conduct of 
those by whose influence Jugurtha had set at nought the 
decrees of the senate, as well as of those who, whether as 
ambassadors or commanders, had received money from him, 
or who had restored to him his elephants and deserters, or had 
made any compacts with the enemy relative to peace or war. 
To this bill some, who were conscious of guilt, and others, 
who apprehended danger from the jealousy of parties, secretly 
raised obstructions through the agency of friends, and espe- 
cially of men among the Latins and Italian allies 3 , since they 
could not openly resist it, without admitting that these and 
similar practices met their approbation. But as to the 
people, it is incredible what eagerness they displayed, and 
with what spirit they approved, voted, and passed the bill, 
though rather from hatred to the nobility, against whom/ 

1 XXXIX. Under all the circumstances of the case] Ex copid rerum. From 
the number of things which he had to consider. 

2 XL. The Latins and Italian allies] Per homines nominis Latini, et socios 
Italicos. " The right of voting was not extended to all the Latin people till 
A.u.c. 664, and the Italian allies did not obtain it till some years afterwards." 
Kritzius. So that at this period, which was twenty years earlier, their influence 
could only be employed in an underhand way. Compare c. 42. 



THE JUGTJBTHI> T E WAE. 131 

these severe measures were directed, than from concern for 
the republic ; so violent was the fury of party. 

Whilst the rest of the delinquents were in trepidation, 
Marcus Scaurus 1 , whom I have previously noticed as Bestia's 
lieutenant, contrived, amidst the exultation of the populace, 
the dismay of his own party, and the continued agitation in 
the city, to have himself elected one of the three commis- 
sioners who were appointed by the bill of Mamilius to carry 
it into execution. But the investigation, notwithstanding, 
was conducted 3 with great rigour and violence, under the in- 
fluence of common rumour and popular caprice ; for the inso- 
lence of success, which had often distinguished the nobility, 
on this occasion characterised the people. 

XLI. The prevalence of parties among the people, and of 
factions in the senate, and of all evil practices attendant on 
them, had its origin at Eome, a few years before, during a 
period of tranquillity, and amidst the abundance of all that 
mankind regard as desirable. For, before the destruction of 
Carthage, the senate and people managed the affairs of the 
republic with mutual moderation and forbearance ; there 
were no contests among the citizens for honour or ascen- 
dancy ; but the dread of an enemy kept the state in order. 
When that fear, however, was removed from their minds, 
licentiousness and pride, evils which prosperity loves to 
foster, immediately began to prevail ; and thus peace, which 
they had so eagerly desired in adversity, proved, when they 
had obtained it, more grievous and fatal than adversity itself. 
The patricians carried their authority, and the people their 
liberty, to excess; every man took, snatched, and seized 3 
I what he could. There was a complete division into two 
factions, and the republic was torn in pieces between them. 

1 Marcus Scaurus] See c. 15. That he was appointed on this occasion, is an 
evident proof of his commanding influence. 

2 But the investigation, notwithstanding, was conducted, cfc] Sed qucestio 
exercita, §c. Scaurus, it is probable, did what he could to mitigate the violence 
of the proceedings. Cicero, however, says that Caius Galba a sacerdos, with four 
consulares, Bestia, Caius Cato, Albinus, and Opimius, were condemned and exiled 
by this law of Mamilius. See Brut. c. 34. 

3 XLI. Took, snatched, and seized] Ducere, trahere, rapere. " Ducere con- 
veys the notion of cunning and fraud ; trahere of some degree of force ; rapere of 
open violence." Midler. The words chiefly refer to offices in the state, as is appa- 
rent from what follows. 

k2 



132 



SALLTJST. 



Yet the nobility still maintained an ascendancy by conspir- 
ing together ; for the strength of the people, being disunited 
and dispersed among a multitude, was less able to exert itself. 
Things were accordingly directed, both at home and in the 
field, by the will of a small number of men, at whose dis- 
posal were the treasury, the provinces, offices, honours, and 
triumphs ; while the people were oppressed with military ser- 
vice and with poverty, and the generals divided the spoils of 
war with a few of their friends. The parents and children 
of the soldiers 1 , meantime, if they chanced to dwell near a 
powerful neighbour, were driven from their homes. Thus 
avarice, leagued with power, disturbed, violated, and wasted 
everything, without moderation or restraint ; disregarding 
alike reason and religion, and rushing headlong, as it were, to 
its own destruction. Eor whenever any arose among the 
nobility 3 , who preferred true glory to unjust power, the state 
was immediately in a tumult, and civil discord spread with as 
much disturbance as attends a convulsion of the earth. 

XLII. Thus when Tiberius and Caius Gracchus, whose 
forefathers had done much to increase the power of the state 
in the Punic and other wars, began to vindicate the liberty 
of the people, and to expose the misconduct of the few, the 
nobility, conscious of guilt, and seized with alarm, endea- 

1 The parents and children of the soldiers, cfc] 

Quid quod usque proximos 

Revellis agri terminos, et ultra 
Limites clientium 

Salis avarus ? Pellitur paternos 
In sinu ferens deos 

Et uxor et vir, sordidosque natos. 

Hor. Od., ii., 18. 

What can this impious av rice stay ? 
Their sacred landmarks torn away, 
You plunge into your neighbour's grounds, 
And overleap your client's bounds. 
Helpless the wife and husband flee, 
And in their arms, expeli'd by thee, 
Their household gods, adored in vain, 
Their infants, too, a sordid train. 

Francis. 

2 Among the nobility] Ex nobilitate. Cortius injudiciously omits these words. 
The reference is to the Gracchi. 



THE JUGUETHISTE WAR. 133 

voured, sometimes by means. of the allies and Latins 1 , and 
sometimes by means of the equestrian order, whom the hope 
of coalition with the patricians had detached from the people, 
to put a stop to the proceedings of the Gracchi ; and first 
they killed Tiberius, and a few years after Caius, who pur- 
sued the same measures as his brother, the one when he was 
tribune, and the other when he was one of a triumvirate for 
settling colonies ; and with them they cut off Marcus Fulvius 
Flaccus. In the Gracchi, indeed, it must be allowed that, 
from their ardour for victory, there was not sufficient pru- 
dence. But to a reasonable man it is more agreeable to 
submit 2 to injustice than triumph over it by improper means. 
The nobility, however, using their victory with wanton ex- 
travagance, exterminated numbers of men by the sword or 
by exile, yet rather increased, for the time to come, the 
dread with which they were regarded, than their real power. 
Such proceedings have often ruined powerful states ; for of 
two parties, each strives to suppress the other by any means 
whatever, and to take vengeance with undue severity on the 
vanquished. 

But were I to attempt to treat of the animosities of 
parties, and of the morals of the state, with minuteness of 
detail, and suitably to the vastness of the subject, time 
would fail me sooner than matter. I therefore return to my 
subject. 

XLIII. After the treaty of Aulus, and the disgraceful 
flight of our army, Quintus Metellus and Marcus Silanus, 
the consuls elect, divided the provinces between them ; and 
jNumidia fell to Metellus, a man of energy, and, though an 

1 By means of the allies and Latins] See on, c. 40. 

2 But to a reasonable man it is more agreeable to submit, <J*c] Sed bono vinci 
satius est, quam malo more injuriam vincere. Bono, sc. viro. " That is, if the 
nobility had been truly worthy characters, they would rather have yielded to the 
Gracchi, than have revenged any wrong that they had received from them, in an 
unprincipled manner." Dietsch. Thus this is a reflexion on the nobles ; in which 
notion of the passage Allen concurs with Dietsch. Others, as Cortius, think it a 
reflection on the too great violence of the Gracchi. The brevity with which 
Sallust had expressed himself makes it difficult to decide. Kritzius, who thinks 
that the remark is in praise of the Gracchi, supplies the ellipse thus: " Sane con- 
cedi debet Gracchis non satis moderatum animum fuisse ; qiue res ipsis adeo inte- 
ritum attulit ; sed sic quoque egregii viri putandi sunt ; nam bono vinci," cfc. 
Langius and Burnouf join bono with more, but do not differ much in their inter- 
pretations of the passage from that given by Dietsch. 



134 SALLTJST. 

opponent of the popular party, yet of a character uniformly 
irreproachable 1 . He, as soon as he entered on his office, 
regarded all other things as common to himself and his 
colleague 2 , but directed his chief attention to the war which 
he was to conduct. Distrusting, therefore, the old army, 
he began to raise new troops, to procure auxiliaries from all 
parts, and to provide arms, horses, and other military requi- 
sites, besides provisions in abundance, and everything else 
-which was likely to be of use in a war varied in its character, 
and demanding great resources. To assist in accomplishing 
these objects, the allies and Latins, by the appointment of 
the senate, and different princes 3 of their own accord, sent 
supplies ; and the whole state exerted itself in the cause with 
the greatest zeal. Having at length prepared and arranged 
everything according to his wishes, Metellus set out for Nu- 
midia, attended with sanguine expectations on the part of his 
fellow-citizens, not only because of his other excellent quali- 
ties, but especially because his mind was proof against gold ; 
for it was through the avarice of our commanders, that, 
down to this period, our affairs in Numidia had been ruined, 
and those of the enemy rendered prosperous. 

XLIV. When he arrived in Africa, the command of the 
army was resigned to him by Albinus, the proconsul 4 ; but 
it was an army spiritless and unwarlike ; incapable of en- 
countering either danger or fatigue ; more ready with the 
tongue than with the sword ; accustomed to plunder our 
allies, while itself was the prey of the enemy ; unchecked by 
discipline, and void of all regard to its character. The new 

1 XLIII. Of a character uniformly irreproachable] Famd tamen cequabili et 
inviolatd. JEquabilis is uniform, always the same, keeping an even tenor. 

2 Eegarded all other things as common to himself and his colleague] Alia 
omnia sibi cum collegd ratus. " Other matters, unconnected with the war against 
Jugurtha, he thought that he would have to manage in conjunction with his col- 
league, and that, consequently, he might give but partial attention to them ; but 
that the war in Numidia was committed to his sole care." Cortius. Other inter- 
pretations of these words have been suggested ; but they are fanciful, and 
unworthy of notice. 

3 Princes] Reges. Who these were, the commentators have not attempted to 
conjecture. 

4 XLIV. By Spurius Albinus, the proconsul] A Spurio Albino proconsule. 
This is the general reading. Cortius has, Spurii Albinipro consule, with which 
we may understand agentis or imperantis, but can hardly believe it to be what 
Sallust wrote. Kritzius reads, Spurii Albini proco?isulis. 



THE JUaUETHlNE WAE. 135 

general, accordingly, felt more anxiety from the corrupt 
morals of the men, than confidence or hope from their num- 
bers. He determined, however, though the delay of the 
comitia had shortened his summer campaign, and though he 
knew his countrymen to be anxious for the result of his pro- 
ceedings, not to commence operations, until, by a revival of 
the old discipline, he had brought the soldiers to bear fatigue. 
For Albinus, dispirited by the disaster of his brother Aulus 
and his army, and having resolved not to leave the province 
during the portion of the summer that he was to command, 
had kept the soldiers, for the most part, in a stationary 
camp 1 , except when stench, or want of forage, obliged them 
to remove. But neither had the camp been fortified 2 , nor the 
watches kept, according to military usage ; every one had 
been allowed to leave his post when he pleased. The camp- 
followers, mingled with the soldiers, wandered about day 
and night, ravaging the country, robbing the houses, and 
vying with each other in carrying off cattle and slaves, which 
they exchanged with traders for foreign wine 3 and other 
luxuries; they even sold the corn, which was given them 
from the public store, and bought bread from day to clay ; 
and, in a word, whatever abominations, arising from idleness 
and licentiousness, can be expressed or imagined, and even 
more, were to be seen in that army. 

XLV. But I am assured that Metellus, in these difficult 
circumstances, no less than in his operations against the 
enemy, proved himself a great and wise man; so just a 
medium did he observe between an affectation of popularity 
and an excessive enforcement of discipline. His first 

1 In a stationary camp] Stativis castHs. In contradistinction to that which, 
the soldiers formed at the end of a day's march. 

2 But neither had the camp been fortified, <J*c] Sed neque muniebantur ea 
(sc. castra), neque more militari vigilice deducebantur. " The -words sed neque 
muniebantur ea are wanting in almost all the manuscripts, as well as in all the 
editions, except that of Cyprianus Popma." Kritzlus. Gerlach, however, had, 
previously to Kritz, inserted them in his text, though in brackets ; for he supposed 
them to be a mere conjecture of some scribe, who was not satisfied with a single 
neque. But they have been found in a codex of Fronto, by Angelo Mai, and have 
accordingly been received as genuine by Kritz and Dietsch. Pottier and Burnouf 
have omitted the ecr, thinking, I suppose, that in such a position it could hardly 
be Sallust's ; but the verb requires a nominative case to prevent it from being 
referred to the following vigiliw. 

3 Foreign wine] Vino advectitio. Imported. Africa does not abound in wine. 



s 



136 SALLUST. 

measure was to remove incentives to idleness, by a general 
order that no one should sell bread, or any other dressed 
provisions, in the camp ; that no sutlers should follow the 
army ; and that no common soldier should have a servant, or 
beast of burden, either in the camp or on a march. He 
made the strictest regulations, too, with regard to other 
things 1 . He moved his camp daily, exercising the soldiers 
by marches across the country ; he fortified it with a ram- 
part and a trench, exactly as if the enemy had been at hand ; 
he placed numerous sentinels 2 by night, and went the rounds 
with his officers ; and, when the army was on the march, he 
would be at one time in the front, at another in the rear, 
and at another in the centre, to see that none quitted their 
ranks, that the men kept close to their standards, and that 
every soldier carried his provisions and his arms. Thus by 
preventing rather than punishing irregularities, he in a short 
time rendered his army effective. 

XL VI. Jugurtha, meantime, having learned from his 
emissaries how Metellus was proceeding, and having heard, 
when he was in Eome, of the integrity of the consul's cha- 
racter, began to despair of his plans, and at length actually 
endeavoured to effect a capitulation. He therefore sent 
deputies to the consul with proposals of submission, stipu- 
lating only for his own life and that of his children, and 
offering to surrender everything else to the Romans. But 
Metellus had already learned by experience, that the ±\u- 
midians were a faithless race, of unsettled disposition, and 
fond of change ; and he accordingly applied himself to each 
of the deputies separately, and after gradually sounding 
them, and finding them proper instruments for his purpose, 
prevailed on them, by large promises, to deliver Jugurtha 
into his hands ; bringing him alive, if they could, or dead, 
if to take him alive should be impracticable. In public, 
however, he directed that such an answer should be given to 
the king as would be agreeable to his wishes. 

A few days afterwards, he led the army, which was now 

1 XLV. With regard to other things] Cceterls. Cortius, whomGerlach follows, 
considers this word as referring to the men or officers; but Kritzius and Dietsch, 
with better judgment, understand rebus. 

2 Numerous sentinels] YhjUlas crebras. At short intervals, says Kritzius, from 
each other. 



THE JUGURTHI^E WAE. 137 

vigorous and resolute, into jSTumidia, where, instead of any 
appearance of war, he found the cottages full of people, and the 
cattle and labourers in the fields, while the officers of Jugur- 
tha came from the towns and villages 1 to meet him, offering 
to supply him with corn, to convey provisions for him, and 
to do whatever might be required of them. Metellus, not- 
withstanding, made no diminution in the caution with which 
he marched, but kept as much on the defensive as if an 
enemy had been at hand ; and he despatched scouts to ex- 
plore the country, thinking that these signs of submission 
were but pretence, and that the jSumidians were watching 
an opportunity for treachery. He himself, with some light- 
armed cohorts, and a select body of slingers and archers, 
advanced always in the front ; while Caius Marius, his lieu- 
tenant-general, at the head of the cavalry, had charge of the 
rear. The auxiliary horse, distributed among the tribunes 
of the legions and prefects of the cohorts, he placed on the 
flanks, so that, with the aid of the light troops mixed with 
them, they might repel the enemy wherever an approach 
should be made. For such was the subtlety of Jugurtha, 
and such his knowledge of the country and the art of war, 
that it was doubtful whether he was more formidable absent 
or present, offering peace or threatening hostilities. 

XLYII. There lay, not far from the route which Metellus 
was pursuing, a city of the Xumidians named Vaga, the 
most celebrated place for trade in the whole kingdom, in 
which many Italian merchants were accustomed to reside 
and traffic. Here the '-consul, to try the disposition of the 
inhabitants, and, should they allow him, to take advantage of 
the situation of the place 2 , established a garrison, and ordered 

1 LXVI. Villages] Mapcdibus. See c. xviii. The word is here used for a col- 
lection, of huts, a village. 

2 XLYII. Here the consul, to try the disposition of the inhabitants, and, should 
they allow him, to take advantage of the situation of the place, <$c.~\ Hue consul, 
simul tentandi gratia, et si paterentur, opportunitatis loci, prcesidium imponit. 
This is a locus vexatissimus, about which no editor has satisfied himself. I have 
deserted Cortius and followed Dietsch, who seems to have settled the passage, on 
the basis of Havercamp's text, with more judgment than any other commentator. 
Cortius read, Hue consul, simul tentandi gratia, si paterent opportunitates loci, 
<$*c, taking opportunitates in the sense of munitiones, "defences;" but would Sal- 
lust have said that Metellus put a garrison in the place, to tty if its defences would 
be open to him? Havercamp's reading is, simul tentandi gratia, et si paterentur 



138 SALLUST. 

the people to furnish him with corn, and other necessaries 
for war ; thinking, as circumstances indeed suggested, that 
the concourse of merchants, and frequent arrival of sup- 
plies 1 , would add strength to his army, and further the plans 
which he had already formed. 

(in the midst of these proceedings, Jugurtha, with extraor- 
dinary earnestness 1 , sent deputies to sue for peace, offering 
to resign everything to Metellus, except his own life and that 
of his children. These, like the former, the consul first 
seduced to treachery, and then sent back ; the peace which 
Jugurtha asked, he neither granted nor refused, but waited, 
during these delays, the performance of the deputies' 
promises. 

XI/VIII. ( Jugurtha, on comparing the words of Metellus 
with his actions, perceived that he was assailed with his own 
artifices ; for though peace was offered him in words, a most 
vigorous war was in reality pursued against him ; one of his 
strongest cities was wrested from him ; his country was ex- 
plored by the enemy, and the affections of his subjects 
alienated. Being compelled, therefore, by the necessity of 
circumstances, he resolved to try the fortune of a battle. 
Having, with this view, informed himself of the exact route 
of the enemy,* and hoping for success from the advantage 
of the ground, he collected as large a force of every kind as 

opportunities loci, (fc. Palmerius conjectured simul tentandi gratia, si pa- 
terentur; et opportunitate loci, which Gerlach and Kritzius adopt, except that 
they change the place of the et, and put it before si. Allen thinks that he has 
amended the passage by reading Hue consul, simul sipaterentur tentandi, et op~ 
portunitatis loci, gratia ; but this conjecture is liable to similar objection with that 
of Cortius. Other varieties of reading it is needless to notice. But it is observable 
that four manuscripts, as Kritzius remarks, have propter opportunitates, which 
led me long ago to suppose that the true reading must be simul tentandi gratia, 
simul propter opportunitates loci. Simul propter might easily have been cor- 
rupted into si paterentur. 

1 Frequent arrival of supplies] Commeatum. "Frumenti et omnium rerum, 
quarum in bello usus est, largam copiam." Kritzius. I follow the text of Cortius, 
(retaining the words juvaturum exercitum) which Kritzius sufficiently justifies. 
There is a variety of readings, but all much the same in sense. 

2 Extraordinary earnestness] Impensius modo. Cortius and Kritzius interpret 
this mo do as the ablative case of modus ; i. e. quam modus erat, or supra modum ; 
but Dietsch and Burnouf question the propriety of this interpretation, and con- 
sider the modo to be the same as that in tantummodo, dummodo, &c. The same 
expression occurs again in c. 75. 



THE JUGURTHINE WAR. 



139 



he could, and, marching by cross-roads, got in advance of 
Metellus's army. 

There was, in that part of jNumLdia, of which, on the divi- 
sion of the kingdom, Adherbal had become possessor, a river 
named Muthul, flowing from the south ; and, about twenty 
miles from it, was a range of mountains running parallel with 
the stream 1 , wild and uncultivated; but from the centre 
of it stretched a kind of hill, reaching to a vast distance, 
covered with wild olives, myrtles, and other trees, such as 
grow in a dry and sandy soil. The plain, which lay be- 
tween the mountains and the Muthul, was uninhabited from 
want of water, except the parts bordering on the river, which 
were planted with trees, and full of cattle and inhabitants. 

XLIX. On this hill, which I have just mentioned, stretch- 
ing in a transverse direction 2 , Jugurtha took post with his 
line drawn out to a great length. The command of the ele- 
phants, and of part of the infantry, he committed to Bomil- 
car, and gave him instructions how to act. He himself, with 
the whole of the cavalry and the choicest of the foot, took his 
station nearer to the range of mountains. Then, riding round 
among the several squadrons and battalions, he exhorted and 
conjured them to call to mind their former prowess and 
triumphs, and to defend themselves and their country from 
Eoman rapacity ; saying that they would have to engage 

1 XL VIII. Running parallel with the stream] Tractupari, It may be well to 
illustrate this and the following chapter by a copy of the lines which Cortius has 
drawn, " to excite/' as he says, " the imagination of his readers:" 
Eiver Muthul, flowing from the south. 



<r 



• North. 



Range of hills, parallel 



o h o 



with the Muthul. 



2 XLIX. In a transverse direction] Transvwso itinere. It lay on the flank of 
the Romans as they marched towards the river, in dexter v latere, c. 49, Jin. 



140 SALLUST. 

with those whom they had already conquered and sent under 
the yoke, and that, though their commander was changed, 
there was no alteration in their spirit. He added, that he 
had provided for his men everything becoming a general ; 
that he had chosen the higher ground, where they, being 
well acquainted with the country 1 , would contend with adver- 
saries ignorant of it ; nor would they engage, inferior in 
numbers or skill, with a larger or more experienced force ; 
and that they should therefore be ready, when the signal 
should be given, to fall vigorously on the Eomans, as that day 
would either crown 2 all their labours and victories, or be a 
prelude to the most grievous calamities. He also addressed 
himself, individually, to any one whom he had rewarded with 
money or honours for military desert, reminding him of his 
favours, and pointing him out as an example to the rest ; and 
finally he excited all his men, some in one way and some in 
another, by threats or entreaties, according to the different 
dispositions of each. 

Metellus, who was still ignorant of the enemy's position, 
was now seen 3 descending the mountain with his army. He 
was at first doubtful what the strange appearance before him 
indicated ; for the Numidians, both cavalry and infantry, had 
taken post among the wood, not entirely concealing them- 
selves, by reason of the lowness of the trees, yet rendering 
it uncertain 4 what they were, as both themselves and their 
standards were screened as well by the nature of the ground 
as by artifice ; but soon perceiving that there were men in 
ambush, he halted a while, and, having altered the arrange- 
ment of his troops, he drew up those in the right wing, 
which was nearest to the enemy, in three lines 5 ; he distri- 

1 Well acquainted with the country] Pi^udentes. " Periti loci et regionis." 
Cortius. Or it may mean knowing what they were to do, while the enemy would 
be imperiti, surprised and perplexed. 

2 Would crown] Conjirmaturum. Would establish, settle, put the last hand to 
them. 

3 Was seen] Conspicitur. This is the reading adopted by Cortius, Miiller, and 
Allen, as being that of all the manuscripts. Havercamp, Kritzius, and Dietsch 
admitted into their texts, on the sole authority of Donatus ad Ter. Eun. ii., 3, 
conspicatur, i. e. (Metellus) catches sight of the enemy. The latter reading, per- 
haps, makes a better connexion. 

4 Rendering it uncertain] Incerti. Presenting such an appearance that a spec- 
tator could not be certain what they were. 

5 He drew up those in the right wing — in three lines] In dextero latere— tri- 



THE JUaTJETHHS-E WAE. 141 

buted tlie slingers and archers among the infantry, posted 
all the cavalry on the flanks, and having made a brief ad- 
dress, such as time permitted, to his men, he led them down, 
with the front changed into a flank 1 , towards the plain. 

L. But when he observed that the Numidians remained 
quiet, and did not offer to descend from the hill, he became 
apprehensive that his army, from the season of the year and 
the scarcity of water, might be overcome with thirst, and 
therefore sent Rutilius, one of his lieutenant-generals, with 
the light-armed cohorts and a detachment of cavalry, towards 
the river, to secure ground for an encampment, expecting 
that the enemy, by frequent charges and attacks on his flank, 
would endeavour to impede his march, and, as they despaired 
of success in arms, would try the effect of fatigue and thirst 
on his troops. He then continued to advance by degrees, as. 
his circumstances and the ground permitted, in the same 
order in which he had descended from the range of moun- 
tains. He assigned Marius his post behind the front line 3 , 
and took on himself the command of the cavalry on the left 
wing, which, on the march, had become the van 3 . 

plicibiis siibsidiis aciem instruxit In the other passages in which Sallust has the 
word subsidia (Cat., c. 59), he uses it for the lines bekind the front Thus he 
says of Catiline, Octo cohortes in fronte constituit ; reliqua signa in subsidiis 
arctiiis collocat ; and of Petreius, Cohortes veteranas — in fronte ; post eas reli- 
quum exercitum in subsidiis heat But whether he uses the word in the same 
sense here ; whether we might, as Cortius thinks (whom Gerlach and Dietsch fol- 
low), call the division of Metellus's troops quadruple instead of triple, or whether 
he arranged them, as De Brosses and others suppose, in the usual disposition of 
Hastati, Principes, and Triarii, who shall place beyond dispute? The probability, 
however, if Sailust is consistent with himself in his use of the word, lies with 
Cortius. Gerlach refers to Caesar, De Bell. Civ. iii., 89: Celeriter ex tertid acie 
singulas cohortes detraxit, atque ex his quartam instituit; but this does not 
illustrate Sallust's use of the word subsidia : Caesar forms a fourth acies ; Metellus 
draws up one acies " triplicibus subsidiis." 

1 With the front changed into a flank] Transversis principiis. He made the 
whole army wheel to the left, so that what was their front line, or principia, as : 
they faced the enemy on the hill, became their flank as they marched from 
the mountains toward the river. 

2 L. Behind the front line] Post principia. The principia are the same as 
those mentioned in the preceding note, that is, the front line when the army faced 
that of Jugurtha on the hill, but which presented its flank to the enemy when 
the army was on its march. So that Marius commanded in the centre ("in 
medio agmine," says Dietsch), while Metellus took the lead with the cavalry of 
the left wing. See the following note. 

3 Cavalry on the left wing — which, on the march, had become the van] Sinistra*. 



142 SALLTJST. 

When Jugurtha perceived that the rear of the Roman 
army had passed his first line, he took possession of that part 
of the mountain from which Metellius had descended, with 
a body of about two thousand infantry, that it might not 
serve the enemy, if they were driven back, as a place of re- 
treat, and afterwards as a post of defence ; and then, ordering 
the signal to be given, suddenly commenced his attack. 
Some of his Numidians made havoc in the rear of the 
Romans, while others assailed them on the right and left 
wings ; they all advanced and charged furiously, and every- 
where threw the consul's troops into confusion. Even those 
of our men who made the stoutest resistance, were baffled by 
the enemy's versatile method of fighting, and wounded from a 
distance, without having the power of wounding in return, or 
of coming to close combat; for the Numidian cavalry, as 
they had been previously instructed by Jugurtha, retreated 
whenever a troop of Romans attempted to pursue them, but 
did not keep in a body, or collect themselves into one place, 
but dispersed as widely as possible. Thus, being superior 
in numbers, if they could not deter the Romans from pur- 
suing, they surrounded them, when disordered, on the rear 
or flank, or, if the hill seemed more convenient for retreat 
than the plain, the Numidian horses, being accustomed to 
the brushwood, easily made their way among it, whilst the 
difficulty of the ascent, and want of acquaintance with the 
ground-impeded those of the Romans. 

LI.* The aspect of the whole struggle 1 was indeed various, 
perplexing, direful, and lamentable ; the men, separated from 
their comrades, were partly fleeing, partly pursuing ; neither 
standards nor ranks were regarded, but wherever danger 
pressed, there they made a stand and defended themselves ; 
arms and weapons, horses and men, enemies, and fellow- 
countrymen, were all mingled in confusion; nothing was 
done by direction or command, but chance ordered every- 
thing. Though the day, therefore, was now far advanced, 

alee equitibus, — qui in agmine principes facti erant. When Metellus halted 
(c. 49, fin.), and drew up his troops fronting the hill on which Jugurtha was 
posted, he placed all his cavalry in the wings ; consequently, when the army 
wheeled to the left, and marched forward, the cavalry of the left wing became 
the van. 

1 LI. Of the whole struggle] Totius negotii. That is, on the side of the 
Romans. 



THE JTiaUETHIFE WAB. 143 

the event of the contest was still uncertain. At last, how- 
ever, when all were faint with exertion and the heat of the 
day, Metellus, observing that the JNuinidians were less 
vigorous in their charges, drew his troops together by de- 
grees, restored order among them, and led four cohorts of 
the legions against the enemy's infantry, of whom a great 
number, overcome with fatigue, had seated themselves on the 
high ground. He at the same time entreated and exhorted 
his men not to lose courage, nor to suffer a flying enemy to 
be victorious ; adding that they had neither camp nor citadel 
to which they could flee, but that their only dependence was 
on their arms. Nor was Jugurtha, in the mean time, in- 
active ; he rode round among his troops, cheered them, re- 
newed the contest, and, at the head of a select body, made 
every possible effort for victory ; supporting his own men, 
charging such of the enemy as wavered, and repressing with 
missiles such as he saw remaining unshaken. 

Iill. y Thus did these two commanders, both eminent men, 
maintain the contest against each other. In personal ability 
they were equal, but in circumstances unequal. Metellus 
had resolute troops, but a disadvantageous position; Jugurtha 
had everything in his favour except men. At last the 
Romans, seeing that they had no place of refuge, that the 
enemy allowed no opportunity for a regular engagement, and 
that the evening was fast approaching, forced their way, 
according to the orders which were given, up the hill. The 
]Numidians were thus driven from their position, routed, and 
put to flight ; a few of them were slain, but their speed, and 
the enemy's ignorance of the country 1 , saved the greater 
number of them. 

Meanwhile Bomilcar, who, as I have said before, was ap- 
pointed by Jugurtha over the elephants and a part of the 
infantry, having seen Butilius pass by him, led down his men 
gradually into the plain, and whilst Butilius hastened to the 
river, to which he had been despatched, quietly drew them 
up in such order as circumstances required ; not omitting, at 
the same time, to watch every movement of the enemy. 
When he learned that Eutilius had taken his position, and 
seemed free from apprehension of danger, and heard, at the 

1 LII. The enemy's ignorance of the country] Regio hostibus ignara. Ignara 
for ignota ; a country unknown to the enemy. 



144 SALLUST. 

same time, an increasing noise where Jugurtha was engaged, 
fearing lest the lientenant-general, taking the alarm, should 
go to the support of his countrymen in difficulties, he, in 
order to intercept his march, increased the extent of his lines, 
which, from distrust of the bravery of his men, he had pre- 
viously condensed, and advanced in this order towards Buti- 
lius's camp. 

LIU. The Eomans, on a sudden, observed a vast cloud 
of dust, which, as the ground, thickly covered with bushes, 
obstructed their view, they at first supposed to be only 
sand raised by the wind ; but at length, when they saw that 
it continued uniform, and approached nearer and nearer as 
the line advanced, they understood the real cause of it, and, 
hastily seizing their arms, drew up, as their commander 
directed, before the camp. When the enemy came up, both 
sides rushed to the encounter with loud shouts. But the 
Numidians maintained the contest only as long as they 
trusted for support to their elephants ; for, when they saw 
the animals entangled in the boughs of the trees, and dis- 
persed or surrounded by the enemy, they betook themselves 
to flight, and most of them, having thrown away their arms, 
escaped, by favour of the hill, or of the night, "which was now 
coming on, without injury. Of the elephants, four were 
taken, and the rest, to the number of forty, were killed. 

The Eomans, though fatigued and exhausted 1 with their 
march, the construction of their camp, and the engagement, 
yet, as Metellus was longer in coming than they expected, 
advanced to meet him in regular and steady order. The 
subtlety of the Numidians, indeed, allowed them neither rest 
nor relaxation. But as the two parties drew together, in the 
obscurity of the night, each occasioned, by a noise like that 
of enemies approaching, alarm and trepidation in the other ; 
and, had not parties of horse, sent forward from both sides, 
ascertained the truth, a fatal disaster was on the point of 
happening from the mistake. However, in place of fear, joy 

1 LIII. Fatigued and exhausted] Fessi lassique. I am once more obliged to 
desert Cortius, who reads Icetique. The sense, as Kritzius and Dietsch observe, 
shows that Iceti cannot be the reading, for there must evidently be a complete 
antithesis between the two parts of the sentence ; an antithesis which would be 
destroyed by the introduction of Iceti Gerlach, though he retains Iceti in his 
text, condemns it in his notes. 



THE JUdUETHIKE WAR. 145 

quickly succeeded ; the soldiers met with mutual congratula- 
tions, relating their adventures, or listening to those of others, 
and each extolling his own achievements to the skies. For 
thus it is with human affairs; in success, even cowards may 
boast ; whilst defeat lowers the character even of heroes. 

LIV. Metellus remained four days in the same camp. He 
carefully provided for the recovery of the wounded, rewarded, 
. in military fashion, such as had distinguished themselves in 
the engagements, and praised and thanked them all in a 
public address ; exhorting them to maintain equal resolution 
jn their future labours, which would be less arduous, as they 
had fought sufficiently for victory, and would now have to 
contend only for spoil. In the mean time he despatched de- 
serters, and other eligible persons, to ascertain where Ju- 
gurtha was, or what he was doing ; whether he had but few 
followers, or a large army ; and how he conducted himself 
under his defeat. The prince, he found, had retreated to 
places full of wood, well defended by nature, and was there 
collecting an army, which would be more numerous indeed 
than the former, but inactive and inefficient, as being com- 
posed of men better acquainted with husbandry and cattle 
than with war. This had happened from the circumstance, 
that, in case of flight, none of the J^umidian troops, except 
the royal cavalry, follow their king ; the rest disperse, where- 
ever inclination leads them ; nor is this thought any disgrace 
to them as soldiers, such being the custom of the people. 

Metellus, therefore, seeing that Jugurtha's spirit was still 
; unsubdued ; that a war was being renewed, which could only 
/ be conducted 1 according to the prince's pleasure ; and that 
he was struggling with the enemy on unequal terms, as 
the Numidians suffered a defeat with less loss than his own 
men gained a victory, he resolved to manage the contest, not 
by pitched battles or regular warfare, but in another method. 
He accordingly marched into the richest parts of Numidia, 
captured and burnt many fortresses and towns, which were 
insufficiently or wholly undefended, put the youth to the 
sword, and gave up everything else as plunder to his soldiers. 
From the terror caused by these proceedings, many persons 

LIV. Which could only be conducted, <J*c] Quod, nisi ex illius lubidine, geri 
non posset. Cortius omits the non before posset, but almost every other editor, 
except Allen, has retained it, from a conviction of its necessity. 

L 



146 SALLUST. 

were given up as hostages to the Romans ; corn, and other 
necessaries, were supplied in abundance ; and garrisons were 
admitted wherever Metellus thought fit. 

These measures alarmed Jugurtha much more than the 
loss of the late battle ; for he, whose whole security lay in 
flight, was compelled to pursue ; and he who could not de- 
fend his own part of the kingdom, was obliged to make war 
in that which was occupied by others. Under these circum- 
stances, however 1 , he adopted what seemed the most eligible 
plan. He ordered the main body of his army to continue 
stationary ; whilst he himself, with a select troop of cavalry, 
went in pursuit of Metellus, and coming upon him unper- 
ceived, by means of night marches and bye-roads, he fell upon 
such of the Eomans as were straggling about, of whom the 
greater number, being unarmed, were slain, and several others 
made prisoners ; not one of them, indeed, escaped unharmed ; 
and the Numidians, before assistance could arrive from the 
camp, fled, as they had been ordered, to the nearest hills. 

LV. In the mean time great joy appeared at Rome 
when the proceedings of Metellus were reported, and 
when it was known how he was conducting himself and 
his army conformably to the ancient discipline ; how, on 
adverse ground, he had gained a victory by his valour ; how 
he was securing possession of the enemy's territory; and 
how he had driven Jugurtha, when elated by the weakness of 
Aulus, to depend for safety on the desert or on flight. For 
these successes, accordingly, the senate decreed a thanks- 
giving 2 to the immortal gods ; the city, which had been full 
of anxiety, and apprehensive as to the event of the war, was 
now filled with joy ; and the fame of Metellus was raised to 
the utmost height. 

The consul's eagerness to gain a complete victory was thus 
increased ; he exerted himself in every possible way, taking 
care, at the same time, to give the enemy no opportunity of 
attacking him to advantage. He remembered that envy is 

1 Under these circumstances, however] Ex copid tamen. With cop id we must 
understand consiUorum or rerum, as at the end of c. 39. All the manuscripts, 
except two, have inopid, which editors have justly rejected as inconsistent with 
the sense. 

2 LV. A thanksgiving] Supplkia. The same as supplicatio, on which the 
reader may consult Adam's Rom. Ant., or Dr. Smith's Dictionary. 



THE JTTGKJBTHI]N T E WAE. 147 

the concomitant of glory, and thus, the more renowned he 
became, the greater was his caution and circumspection. He 
never went out to plunder, after the sudden attack of Jugur- 
tha, with his troops in scattered parties ; when corn or forage 
was sought, a body of cohorts, with the whole of the cavalry, 
were stationed as a guard. He himself conducted part of the 
army, and Marius the rest. The country was wasted, how- 
ever, more by fire than by spoliation. They had separate 
camps, not far from each other ; whenever there was occasion 
for force, they formed a union ; but, that desolation and terror 
. might spread the further, they acted separately. Jugurtha, 
meanwhile, continued to follow them along the hills, watching 
for a favourable opportunity or situation for an attack. He 
destroyed the forage, and spoiled the water, which was scarce, 
wherever he found that the enemy were coming. He pre- 
sented himself sometimes to Metellus, and sometimes to 
Marius ; he would attack their rear upon a march, and in- 
stantly retreat to the hills ; he would threaten sometimes one 
point, and sometimes another, neither giving battle nor allow- 
ing rest, but making it his great object to retard the progress 
of the enemy. 

LVI. The Roman commander, finding himself thus harassed 
by artifices, and allowed no opportunity of coming to a general 
engagement, resolved on laying siege to a large city, named 
Zama, which was the bulwark of that part of the kingdom in 
which it was situate ; expecting that Jugurtha, as a necessary 
consequence, would come to the relief of his subjects in dis- 
tress, and that a battle would then follow. But the king, 
being apprised by some deserters of the consul's design, 
reached the place, by rapid marches, before him, and exhorted 
the inhabitants to defend their walls, giving them, as a rein- 
forcement, a body of deserters ; a class of men, who, of all the 
royal forces, were the most to be trusted, inasmuch as ^hey 
dared not be guilty of treachery 1 . He also promised tc sup- 

1 LVI. Dared not be guilty of treachery] Fallere nequibant. " Through 
dread of the severest punishments if they should fall into the ha^ds of the 
Romans. Valerius Maximus, ii., 7, speaks of deserters having been deprived of 
their hands by Quintus Fabius Maximus; of others who were crucified or 
beheaded by the elder Africanns ; of others who were thrown to wild beasts by 
Africanus the younger ; and of others who were sentenced by Paulus JEmilius to 
be trampled to death by elephants. Hence it appears that the punishment of 
deserters was left to the pleasure of the general." Burnouf. 

l2 



148 



SALLXJST. 



port them, whenever it should "be necessary, with his whole 
army. 

Having taken these precautions, he retired into the deserts 
of the interior ; where he soon after learned that Marius, 
with a few cohorts, had been despatched from the line of 
march to bring provisions from Sicca 1 , a town which had been 
the first to revolt from him after his defeat. To this place he 
hastened by night, accompanied by a select body of cavalry, 
and attacked the Homans at the gate, just as they were 
leaving the city ; calling to the inhabitants, at the same time, 
with a loud voice, to surround the cohorts in the rear ; add- 
ing, that Fortune had given them an opportunity for a 
glorious exploit ; and that, if they took advantage of it, he 
would henceforth enjoy his kingdom, and they their liberty, 
without fear. And had not Marius hastened to advance the 
standards, and to escape from the town, it is certain that all, 
or the greater part of the inhabitants, would have changed 
their allegiance ; so great is the fickleness which the Numi- 
dians exhibit in their conduct. The soldiers of Jugurtha, 
animated for a time by their king, but finding the enemy 
pressing them with superior force, betook themselves, after 
losing a few of their number, to flight. 

LVII.L Marius arrived at Zama. This town, built on a 
plain, was better fortified by art than by nature. It was 
well supplied with necessaries, and contained plenty of arms 
and men. Metellus, having made arrangements suitable for 
the time and the place, encompassed the whole city with his 
army, assigning to each of his officers his post of command. 
At a given signal, a loud shout was raised on every side, but 
without exciting the least alarm in the JSTumidians, who 
awaited the attack full of spirit and resolution. The assault 
wis consequently commenced ; the Romans were allowed to 
act %ach according to his inclination ; some annoyed the enemy 
with slings and stones from a distance ; others came close up 
to the walls, and attempted to undermine or scale them, de- 
siring tv> engage in close combat with the besieged. The 
Zamians, on the other hand, rolled down stones, and hurled 

1 Sicca] It stood on the banks of the Bagradas, at some distance from the 
coast, and contained a celebrated Temple of Venus. Val. Max. ii., 6. D'Anville 
thinks it the same as the modern Kef, 



THE JUaTJETHI^E WAB. 149 

burning stakes, javelins 1 , and wood smeared with pitch and 
sulphur, on the nearest assailants. Nor was caution a suf- 
ficient protection to those who kept aloof ; for darts, dis- 
charged from engines or by the hand, inflicted wounds on 
most of them ; and thus the brave and the timid, though of 
unequal merit, were exposed to equal danger. 

LVIII. While the struggle was thus continued at Zama, 
Jugurfcha, at the head of a large force, suddenly attacked 
the camp of the Eomans, and, through the remissness of 
those left to guard it, who expected anything rather than an 
attack, effected an entrance at one of the gates. Our men, 
struck with sudden consternation, acted each on his own im- 
pulse ; some fled, others seized their arms ; and many of 
them were wounded or slain. About forty, however, out of 
the whole number, mindful of the honour of Home, formed 
themselves into a body, and took possession of a slight 
eminence, from which they could not be dislodged by the 
utmost efforts of the enemy, but hurled back the darts dis- 
charged at them, and, as they were few against many, not 
without execution. If the Numidians came near them, they 
displayed their courage, and slaughtered, repulsed, and dis- 
persed them, with the greatest fury. Metellus, meanwhile, 
who was vigorously pursuing the siege, heard a noise, as of 
enemies, in his rear, and, turning round his horse, perceived 
a party of soldiers in flight towards him ; a certain proof that 
they were his own men. He instantly, therefore, despatched 
the whole of the cavalry to the camp, and immediately after- 
wards Caius Marius, with the cohorts of the allies, intreat- 
ing him with tears, by their mutual friendship, and by his 
regard for the public welfare, to allow no stain to rest on a 
victorious army, and not to let the enemy escape with im- 

1 LVII. Javelins] Pila. This pilum may have been, as Muller suggests, 
similar to the falarica which Livy (xxi., 8) says that the Saguntines used against 
their besiegers. Falarica erat Saguntinis, missile telum hastili abiegno, — id, 
sicut in pilo, quadratum stuppd circumligabant, linebantque pice : — quod cum me- 
dium accensimi mitteretur, <§c. Of Sallust's other words, in the latter part of 
this sentence, the sense is clear, but the readings of different editors are extremely 
various. Cortius and Gerlach have sudes, pila, prceterea picem sulphure et tceda 
mixtam ardentia mittere; but it can scarcely be believed that Sallust wrote picem 
— tcedd mixtam. Havercamp gives pice et sulphure t&dam mixtam ardentia 
mittsre, which has been adopted by Kritzius and Dietsch, except that they have 
changed ardentia, on the authority of some of the manuscripts, into ardenti. 



150 SALLTTST. 

punity. Marius soon executed his orders. Jugurtha, in 
consequence, after being embarrassed in the entrenchments 
of the camp, while some of his men threw themselves over 
the ramparts, and others, in their haste, obstructed each 
other at the gates, fled, with considerable loss, to his strong- 
holds. Metellus, not succeeding in his attempt on the 
town, retired with his forces, at the approach of night, into 
his camp, 

LIX. On the following day, before he marched out to re- 
sume the siege, he ordered the whole of his cavalry to take 
their station before the camp, on the side where the approach 
of Jugurtha was to be apprehended; assigning the gates, 
and adjoining posts, to the charge of the tribunes. He then 
marched towards the town, and commenced an assault upon 
the walls as on the day before. Jugurtha, meanwhile, issu- 
ing from his concealment, suddenly attached our men in 
the camp, of whom those stationed in advance were for the 
moment alarmed and thrown into confusion; but the rest 
soon came to their support ; nor would the JNumidians have 
longer maintained their ground, had not their foot, which 
were mingled with the cavalry, done great execution in the 
struggle ; for the horse, relying on the infantry, did not, as 
is common in actions of cavalry, charge and then retreat, but 
pressed impetuously forward, disordering and breaking the 
ranks, and thus, with the aid of the light-armed foot, almost 
succeeded in giving the enemy a defeat 1 . 

LX. The conflict at Zama, at the same time, was con- 
tinued with great fury. Wherever any lieutenant or tri- 
bune commanded, there the men exerted themselves with the 
utmost vigour. JSTo one seemed to depend for support on 
others, but every one on his own exertions. The townsmen, 
on the other side, showed equal spirit. Attacks, or prepa- 
rations for defence, were made in all quarters 3 . All appeared 

1 LIX. And thus, with the aid of the light-armed foot, almost succeeded in 
giving the enemy a defeat] Ita expeditis peditibus suis hostes pane victos dare. 
Cortius, Kritzius, and Allen, concur in regarding expeditis peditibus as an abla- 
tive of the instrument, i. e. as equivalent toper expedites pedites, and victos dare 
as nothing more than vincere. This appears to be the right mode of explanation ; 
but most of the translators, French as well as English, have taken expeditis pedi- 
tibus as a dative, and given to the passage the sense that "the cavalry delivered 
up the enemy, when nearly conquered, to be despatched by the light-armed foot." 

2 LX. Attacks, or preparations for defence, were made in all quarters] Oppug- 



THE JTTGUBTHIKE WAB. 151 

more eager to wound their enemies than to protect them- 
selves. Shouts, mingled with exhortations, cries of joy, and 
the clashing of arms, resounded through the heaven. Darts 
flew thick on every side. If the besiegers, however, in the 
least relaxed their efforts, the defenders of the walls imme- 
diately turned their attention to the distant engagement of 
the cavalry ; they were to be seen sometimes exhibiting joy, 
and sometimes apprehension, according to the varying for- 
tune of Jugurtha, and, as if they could be heard or seen 
by their friends, uttering warnings or exhortations, making 
-signs with their hands, and moving their bodies to and fro, 
like men avoiding or hurling darts. This being noticed by 
Marius, who commanded on that side of the town, he artfully 
■ x relaxed his efforts, as if despairing of success, and allowed 
j the besieged to view the battle at the camp unmolested. 
: Then, whilst their attention was closely fixed on their coun- 
\ trymen, he made a vigorous assault on the wall, and the 
1 soldiers, mounting their scaling-ladders, had almost gained 
the top, when the townsmen rushed to the spot in a body, 
and hurled down upon them stones, firebrands, and every 
description of missiles. Our men made head against these 
annoyances for a while, but at length, when some of the 
ladders were broken, and those who had mounted them 
dashed to the ground, the rest of the assailants retreated as 
they could, a few indeed unhurt, but the greater number 
miserably wounded. Night put an end to the efforts of 
both parties. 

LXI. When Metellus saw that all his attempts were 

vain ; that the town was not to be taken ; that Jugurtha 

was resolved to abstain from fighting, except from an am- 

\ bush, or on his own ground, and that the summer was now far 

\ advanced, he withdrew his army from Zama, and placed gar- 

* risons in such of the cities that had revolted to him as were 

' sufficiently strong in situation or fortifications. The rest of 

his forces he settled in winter quarters, in that part of our 

province nearest to Numidia 1 . 

nare aut parare omnibus locis. There is much discussion among the critics 
whether these verbs are to be referred to the besiegers or the besieged. Cortius and 
Gerlach attribute oppugnare to the Romans, and parare to the men of Zama ; a 
distinction which Kritzius justly condemns. There can be little doubt that they 
are spoken of both parties equally. 
1 LXI. The rest of his forces — in that part of our province nearest to Numidia] 



152 SALLUST. 

This season of repose, however, he did not, like other com- 
manders, abandon to idleness and luxury; but as the war 
had been but slowly advanced by fighting, he resolved to try 
the effect of treachery on the king through his friends, and 
to employ their perfidy instead of arms. He accordingly 
addressed himself, with large promises, to Bomilcar, the same 
nobleman who had been with Jugurtha at Eome, and who 
had fled from thence, notwithstanding he had given bail, to 
escape being tried for the murder of Massiva ; selecting this 
person for his instrument, because, from his great intimacy 
with Jugurtha, he had the best opportunities of betraying 
him. He prevailed on him, in the first place, to come to a 
conference with him privately, when, having given him his 
word, " that, if he should deliver up Jugurtha, alive or dead, 
the senate would grant him a pardon, and the full possession 
of his property," he easily brought him over to his purpose, 
especially as he was naturally faithless, and also apprehen- 
sive that, if peace were made with the Eomans, he himself 
would be surrendered to justice by the terms of it. 

LXII. Bomilcar took the earliest opportunity of address- 
ing Jugurtha, at a time when he was full of anxiety, and la- 
menting his ill success. He exhorted and implored him, with 
tears in his eyes, to take at length some thought for himself 
and his children, as well as for the people of Kumidia, who 
had so much claim upon him. He reminded him that they 
had been defeated in every battle ; that the country was laid 
waste; that numbers of his subjects had been captured or slain; 
that the resources of the kingdom were greatly reduced; 
that the valour of his soldiers, and his own fortune, had been 
already sufficiently tried ; and that he should beware, lest, 
if he delayed to consult for his people, his people should 
consult for themselves. By these and similar appeals, he 
prevailed with Jugurtha to think of a surrender. Ambassa- 
dors were accordingly sent to the Boman general, announcing 

Cceterum exercitum in provinciam, quce proximo, est Numidice, hiemandi gratia 
collocat. " The words quce proximo est Numidice Cortius would eject as super- 
fluous and spurious. But it is to be understood that Metellus did not distribute 
his troops through the whole of the province, but in that part which is nearest to 
Numidia, in order that they might be easily assembled in case of an attack of the 
enemy or any other emergency. There is, therefore, no need to read with the Bi- 
pont edition and Miiller, qua proximo, cj-c, though this is in itself not a bad con- 
jecture." Kritzius. 



THE JUGUKTHIKE WAE. 153 

that Jugurtha was ready to submit to whatever he should 
desire, and to trust himself and his kingdom uncondition- 
ally to his honour. Metellus, on receiving this statement, 
summoned such of his officers as were of senatorial rank, 
from their winter quarters ; of whom, with others whom he 
thought eligible, he formed a council. By a resolution of 
this assembly, in conformity with ancient usage, he de- 
. manded of Jugurtha, through his ambassadors, two hundred 
thousand pounds' weight of silver, all his elephants, and a 
portion of his horses and arms. These requisitions being imme- 
-diately complied with, he next desired that all the deserters 
should be brought to him in chains. A large number of 
them were accordingly brought ; but a few, when the sur- 
render first began to be mentioned, had fled into Mauretania 
to king Bocchus. 

When Jugurtha, however, after being thus despoiled of 
arms, men, and money, was summoned to appear in person 
I at Tisidium 1 , to await the consul's commands, he began 
again to change his mind, dreading, from a consciousness of 
guilt, the punishment due to his crimes. Having spent 
several days in hesitation, sometimes, from disgust at his ill 
success, believing anything better than war, and sometimes 
considering with himself how grievous would be the fall 
from sovereignty to slavery, he at last determined, notwith- 
standing that he had lost so many and so valuable means of 
resistance, to commence hostilities anew. 

At Rome, meanwhile, the senate, having been consulted 
about the provinces, had decreed Numidia to Metellus. 

LXIII. About the same time, as Caius Marius, who 
happened to be at Utica, was sacrificing to the gods 3 , an augur 

1 LXII. Was summoned to appear in person at Tisidium, cf*c] Cum ipse ad 
imperandum Tisidium vocaretur. The gerund is used, as grammarians say, in a 
passive sense. " The town of Tisidium is nowhere else mentioned. Strabo 
(xvii., 3, p. 488, Ed. Tauch.) speaks of a place named Tto-tatot, which was 
utterly destroyed, and not a vestige of it left." Gerlach. 

2 LXIII. Sacrificing to the gods] Per hostias dis supplicante. Supplicating or 
worshipping the gods with sacrifices, and trying to learn their intentions as to the 
future by inspection of the entrails. " Marius was either a sincere believer in the 
absurd superstitions and dreams of the soothsayers, or pretended to be so, from a 
knowledge of the nature of mankind, who are eager to listen to wonders, and are 
more willing to be deceived than to be taught." Bmmcnif. See Plutarch, Life of 



154 SALLTJST. 

told him that great and wonderful things were presaged to 
him ; that he might therefore pursue whatever designs he had 
formed, trusting to the gods for success ; and that he might 
try fortune as often as he pleased, for that all his undertakings 
would prosper. Previously to this period, an ardent longing 
for the consulship had possessed him ; and he had, indeed, 
every qualification for obtaining it, except antiquity of 
family ; he had industry, integrity, great knowledge of war, 
and a spirit undaunted in the field ; he was temperate in pri- 
vate life, superior to pleasure and riches, and ambitious only 
of glory. Having been born at Arpinum, and brought up 
there during his boyhood, he employed himself, as soon as 
he was of age to bear arms, not in the study of Greek elo- 
quence, nor in learning the refinements of the city, but in 
military service ; and thus, amidst the strictest discipline, 
his excellent genius soon attained full vigour. When lie 
solicited the people, therefore, for the military tribuneship, 
he was well known by name, though most were strangers to 
his face, and unanimously elected by the tribes. After this 
office he attained others in succession, and conducted himself 
so well in his public duties, that he was always deemed 
worthy of a higher station than he had reached. Yet, 
though such had been his character hitherto (for he was 
afterwards carried away by ambition), he had not ventured 
to stand for the consulship. The people, at that time, still 
disposed of 1 other civil offices, but the nobility transmitted 
the consulship from hand to hand among themselves. Nor 
had any commoner appeared, however famous or distin- 
guished by his achievements, who would not have been 
thought unworthy of that honour, and, as it were, a disgrace 
to it. 

LXIV. But when Marius found that the words of the 
augur pointed in the same direction as his own inclina- 
tions prompted him, he requested of Metellus leave of ab- 

Marius. He could interpret omens for himself, according to Valerius Maxi- 
mus, i., 5. 

1 The people — disposed of, cfc] Etiam turn alios rmgistrat'us plebes, comidatum 
nobilitas, inter seper manias tradebat. The commentators have seen the necessity 
of understanding a verb with plebes. Kritzius suggests kabebat ; Gerlach gerebat 
or accipiebat. 

2 A disgrace to it] Pollutus. He was considered, as it were, unclean. See 
Cat., c. 23,^. 



THE JUGTJRTEOTE WAS. 155 

sence, that he might offer himself a candidate for the 
consulship. Metellus, though eminently distinguished by 
virtue, honour, and other qualities valued by the good, had 
yet a haughty and disdainful spirit, the common failing of 
the nobility. He was at first, therefore, astonished at so 
extraordinary an application, expressed surprise at Marius' s 
views, and advised him, as if in friendship, " not to indulge 
such unreasonable expectations, or elevate his thoughts above 
his station ; that all things were not to be coveted by all 
men ; that his present condition ought to satisfy him ; and, 
finally, that he should be cautious of asking from the Eoman 
people what they might justly refuse him." Having made 
these and similar remarks, and finding that the resolution of 
Marius was not at all affected by them, he told him " that he 
would grant what he desired as soon as the public business 
would allow him 1 ." On Marius repeating his request several 
times afterwards, he is reported to have said, " that he need 
not be in a hurry to go, as he would be soon enough if he 
became a candidate with his own son 3 ." Metellus' s son was 
then on service in the camp with his father 3 , and was about 
twenty years old. 

This taunt served only to rouse the feelings of Marius, as 
well for the honour at which he aimed, as against Metellus. 
He suffered himself to be actuated, therefore, by ambition 
and resentment, the worst of counsellors. He omitted nothing 
henceforward, either in deeds or words, that could increase 
his own popularity. He allowed the soldiers, of whom he 
had the command in the winter quarters, more relaxation of 
discipline than he had ever granted them before. He talked 
of the war among the merchants, of whom there was a great 
number at Utica, censoriously with respect to Metellus, and 
vauntingly with regard to himself; saying " that if but half 
of the army were granted him, he would in a few days have 

1 LXIV. As soon as the public business would allow him] Ubi primiim po- 
tuissetper negotia publica. As soon as he could through (regard to) the public 
business. 

2 With his own son] Cumjilio suo. With the son of Metellus. He tells Marius 
that it would be soon enough for him to stand for the consulship in twenty-three 
years' time, the legitimate age for the consulship being forty-three. 

3 In the camp with his father] Contubernio patris. He was among the young 
noblemen in the consul's retinue, who were sent out to see military service under 
him. This was customary. See Cic. Pro Ccel. 30; Pro Plane. 11. 



156 SALLUST. 

Jugurtha in chains; but that the war was purposely pro- 
tracted by the consul, because, being a man of vanity and 
regal pride, he was too fond of the delights of power." All 
these assertions appeared the more credible to the merchants, 
as, by the long continuance of the war, they had suffered in 
their fortunes ; and to impatient minds no haste is sufficient. 

LXV. There was then in our army a jNumidian named 
Grauda, the son of Mastanabal, and grandson of Masinissa, 
whom Micipsa, in his will, had appointed next heir to his 
immediate successors. This man had been debilitated by ill- 
health, and, from the effect of it, was somewhat impaired in 
his understanding. He had petitioned Metellus to allow him 
a seat, like a prince, next to himself, and a troop of horse for 
a body-guard ; but Metellus had refused him both ; the seat, 
because it was granted only to those whom the Eoman people 
had addressed as kings, and the guard, because it would be an 
indignity to Eoman cavalry to act as guards to a Numidian. 
While Grauda was discontented at these refusals, Marius paid 
him a visit, and prompted him, with his assistance, to seek 
revenge for the affronts put upon him by the general ; in- 
flating his mind, which was as weak as his body 1 , with flatter- 
ing speeches, telling him that he was a prince, a great man, 
and the grandson of Masinissa ; that if Jugurtha were taken 
or killed, he would immediately become king of Xumidia ; 
and that this event might soon happen, if he himself were 
sent as consul to the war. 

Thus partly the influence of Marius himself, and partly 
the hope of obtaining peace, induced Grauda, as well as most 
of the Eoman knights, both soldiers and merchants 2 , to write 
to their friends at Eome, in a style of censure, respecting 
Metellus' s management of the war, and to intimate that Ma- 
rius should be appointed general. The consulship, accord- 
ingly, was solicited for him by numbers of people, with the 
most honourable demonstrations in his favour 3 . It happened 

1 LXV. Which was as weak as his body] Ob morbos—jmrum valido. Sallust 
had already expressed this a few lines above. 

2 Merchants] Negotiatores. " Every one knows that Romans of equestrian 
dignity were accustomed to trade in the provinces." Burnovf. 

3 With the most honourable demonstrations in his favour] Honestlssimd suf- 
fragatlone. " Suffragatio was the zealous recommendation of those who solicited 

the votes of their fellow-citizens in favour of some candidate. See Festus, s. v. 
Svffragatores, p. 266, Lindem." DietseJi. It was honourable, in the case of 



THE JUaURTHIKE WAB. 157 

that the people too, at this juncture, having just triumphed 
over the nobility by the Mamilian law 1 , were eager to raise 
commoners to office. Hence everything was favourable to 
Marius's views. 

LXVI. Jugurtha, meantime, who, after relinquishing his 
intention to surrender, had renewed the war, was now hasten- 
ing the preparations for it with the utmost diligence. He 
assembled an army ; he endeavoured, by threats or promises, 
to recover the towns that had revolted from him ; he forti- 
fied advantageous positions 3 ; he repaired or purchased arms, 
-weapons, and other necessaries, which he had given up on 
the prospect of peace ; he tried to seduce the slaves of the 
Romans, and even tempted with bribes theEomans themselves 
who occupied the garrisons ; he, indeed, left nothing untried 
or neglected, but put every engine in motion. 

Induced by the entreaties of their king, from whom, indeed, 
they had never been alienated in affection, the leading inha- 
bitants of Vacca, a city in which Metellus, when Jugurtha 
began to treat for peace, had placed a garrison, entered into 
a conspiracy against the Romans. As for the common people 
of the town, they were, as is generally the case, and especially 
among the Numidians, of a fickle disposition, factious and 
turbulent, and therefore already desirous of a change, and 
adverse to peace and quiet. Having arranged their plans, 
they fixed upon the third day following for the execution of 
them, because that day, being a festival, celebrated through- 
out Africa, would promise merriment and dissipation rather 
than alarm. When the time came, they invited the cen- 
turions and military tribunes, with Titus Turpilius Silanus, 
the governor of the town, to their several houses, and 
butchered them all, except Turpilius, at their banquets ; and 
then fell upon the common soldiers, who, as was to be ex- 
pected on such a day, when discipline was relaxed, were 
wandering about without their arms. The populace followed 
the example of their chiefs, some of them having been pre- 
viously instructed to do so, and others induced by a liking for 

Marius, as it was without bribery, and seemed to have the good of the republic in 
view. 

1 The Mamilian law] See c. 40. 

2 LXVI. Advantageous positions] Suos locos. Places favourable for his views. 
See Kritzius on c. 54. 



158 SALLTJST. 

such disorders, and, though ignorant of what had been done 
or intended, finding sufficient gratification in tumult and 
variety. LXYII. The Roman soldiers, perplexed with sudden 
alarm, and not knowing what was best for them to do, were 
in trepidation. At the citadel 1 , where their standards and 
shields were, was posted a guard of the enemy; and the 
city-gates, previously closed, prevented escape. "Women and 
children, too, on the roofs of the houses 2 , hurled down upon 
them, with great eagerness, stones and whatever else their 
position furnished. Thus neither could such twofold danger 
be guarded against, nor could the bravest resist the feeblest ; 
the worthy and the worthless, the valiant and the cowardly, 
were alike put to death unavenged. In the midst of this 
slaughter, whilst the JSTumidians were exercising every cruelty, 
and the town was closed on all sides, Turpilius was the only 
one, of all the Italians, that escaped unhurt. "Whether his 
flight was the consequence of compassion in his entertainer, 
of compact, or of chance, I have never discovered ; but since, 
in such a general massacre, he preferred inglorious safety to 
an honourable name, he seems to have been a worthless and 
infamous character 3 . 

LXVIII. When Metellus heard of what had happened at 
Vacca, he retired for a time, overpowered with sorrow, from 
the public gaze ; but at length, as indignation mingled with 
his grief, he hastened, with the utmost spirit, to take ven- 
geance for the outrage. He led forth, at sunset, the legion 
that was in winter quarters with him, and as many Numi- 
dian horse as he could, and arrived, about the third hour on 
the following day, at a certain plain surrounded by rising 

1 LXVII. Were in trepidation. At the citadel, cfc.] I have translated this 
passage in conformity with the texts of Gerlach, Kritzius, Dietsch, Miiller, and 
Allen, who put a point between trepidare and ad arcem. Cortius, Havercamp, 
and Burnouf have trepidare ad arcem, without any point. Which method gives 
the better sense, any reader can judge. 

2 On the roofs of the houses] Pro tectis cBdifidonim. In front of the roofs of 
the houses; that is, at the parapets. "In prima tectorum parte." Kritzius. 
The roofs were flat. 

3 Worthless and infamous character] Improlus intestabilisque. These words 
are taken from the twelve tables of the Roman law: See Aul. Gell. vi., 7; xv., 3. 
Horace, in allusion to them, has intestabilis et sacer, Sat. ii., 3, 181. Intestabilis 
signified a person to be of so infamous a character that he was not allowed to give 
evidence in a court of justice. 



THE JUaUKTHINE WAK. 159 

grounds. Here he acquainted the soldiers, who were now 
exhausted with the length of their march, and averse to fur- 
ther exertion 1 , that the town of Vacca was not above a mile 
distant ; and that it became them to bear patiently the toil 
that remained, with the hope of exacting revenge for their 
countrymen, the bravest and most unfortunate of men. He 
likewise generously promised them the whole of the plunder. 
Their courage being thus revived, he ordered them to resume 
their march, the cavalry maintaining an extended line in 
front, and the infantry, with their standards concealed, keep- 
ing the closest order behind. 

LXIX. The people of Vacca, perceiving an army coming 
towards them, judged rightly at first that it was Metellus, 
and shut their gates ; but, after a while, when they saw that 
their fields were not laid waste, and that the front consisted 
of Numidian cavalry, they imagined that it was Jugurtha, 
and went out with great joy to meet him. A signal being 
immediately given, both cavalry and infantry commenced an 
attack ; some cut down the multitude pouring from the town, 
others hurried to the gates, others secured the towers, re- 
venge and the hope of plunder prevailing over their weari- 
ness. Thus Yacca triumphed only two days in its treachery ; 
the whole city, which was great and opulent, was given 
up to vengeance and spoliation. Turpilius, the governor, 
whom we mentioned as the only person that escaped, was 
summoned by Metellus to answer for his conduct, and not 
being able to clear himself, was condemned, as a native of 
Latium 2 , to be scourged and put to death. 

LXX. About this time, Bomilcar, at whose persuasion 

1 LXVIII. Averse to further exertion] Turn dbnuentes omnia. Most of the 
translators have understood by these words that the troops refused to obey 
orders ; but Saliust's meaning is only that they expressed, by looks and gestures, 
their unwillingness to proceed. 

2 LXIX. As a native of Latium] Nam is civis ex Latio erat. il As he was a 
Latin, he was not protected by the Porcian law (see Cat., c. 51), though how far 
this law had power in the camp, is not agreed." Allen. Gerlach thinks that it 
had the same power in the camp as elsewhere, with reference to Eoman citizens. 
But Eoman citizenship was not extended to the Latins till the end of the Social 
War, a.u.c. 662. Plutarch, however, in his Life of Caius Gracchus (c. 9), speaks 
of Livius Drusus having been abetted by the patricians in proposing a law for 
exempting the Latin soldiers from being flogged, about thirty years earlier ; and 
it seems to have been passed, but, from this passage of Sallust, appears not to 



160 SALLTJST. 

Jugurtha had entered upon the capitulation which he had 
discontinued through fear, being distrusted by the king, and 
distrusting him in return, grew desirous of a change of 
government. He accordingly meditated schemes for Jugur- 
tha' s destruction, racking his invention night and day. At 
last, to leave nothing untried, he sought an accomplice in Nab- 
dalsa, a man of noble birth and great wealth, who was in high 
regard and favour with his countrymen, and who, on most occa- 
sions, used to command a body of troops distinct from those 
of the king, and to transact all business to which Jugurtha, 
from fatigue, or from being occupied with more important 
matters, was unable to attend 1 ; employments by which he 
had gained both honours and wealth. By these two men in 
concert, a day was fixed for the execution of their treachery ; 
succeeding matters they agreed to settle as the exigencies of 
the moment might require. JSTabdalsa then proceeded to 
join his troops, which he kept in readiness, according to 
orders, among the winter quarters of the Eomans 3 , to prevent 
the country from being ravaged by the enemy with impunity. 
But as Nabdalsa, growing alarmed at the magnitude of 

Have remained in force. Lipsius touches on this obscure point in his Militia Ro- 
mana, v., 18, but settles nothing. 

Plutarch, in his Life of Marius, c. 8, says that Turpilius was an old retainer 
of tbe family of Metellus, whom he attended, in this war, as prcefectus fabrum, 
or master of the artificers ; that, being afterwards appointed governor of Vacca, 
he exercised his office with great justice and humanity; that his life was spared 
by Jugurtha at the solicitation of the inhabitants ; that, when he was brought to 
trial, Metellus thought him innocent, and that he would not have been condemned 
but for the malice of Marius, who exasperated the other members of the council 
against him. He adds, that after his death, his innocence became apparent, and 
that Marius boasted of having planted in the breast of Metellus an avenging 
fury, that would not fail to torment him for having put to death the innocent 
friend of his family. Hence Sir Henry Steuart has accused Sallust of wilfully 
misrepresenting the character of Turpilius, as well as the whole transaction. 
But as much credit is surely due to Sallust as to Plutarch. 

1 LXX. To which Jugurtha— was unable to attend] Quce Jugurthce, fesso, 
aut majoribus astricto, superaverant. " Which had remained to (or been too 
much for) Jugurtha, when weary, or engaged in more Important affairs." 

2 Among the winter quarters of the Romans] Liter hiberna Romanorum. It 
is stated in c. 61, as Kritzius observes, that Metellus, when he put his army into 
winter quarters, had, at the same time, placed garrisons in such of Jugurtha's 
towns as had revolted to him. The forces of the Romans being thus dispersed, 
Nabdalsa might justly be said to have his army inter hiberna, "among their 
winter quarters." 



THE JUGURTHINE WAH. 161 

the undertaking, failed to appear at the appointed time, and 
allowed his fears to hinder their plans, Bomilcar, eager for 
their execution, and disquieted at the timidity of his asso- 
ciate, lest he should relinquish his original intentions and 
adopt some new course, sent him a letter by some confiden- 
tial persons, in which he " reproached him with pusillanimity 
and irresolution, and conjured him by the gods, by whom he 
had sworn, not to turn the offers of Metellus to his own 
destruction;" assuring him " that the fall of Jugurtha was 
approaching ; that the only thing to be considered was whe- 
ther he should perish by their hand or by that of Metellus ; 
and that, in consequence, he might consider whether to 
choose rewards, or death by torture." 

LXXI. It happened that when this letter was brought, 
Nabdalsa, overcome with fatigue, was reposing on his couch, 
where, after reading Bomilcar's letter, anxiety at first, and 
afterwards, as is usual with a troubled mind, sleep over- 
powered him. In bis service there was a certain Nuniidian, 
the manager of his affairs, a person who possessed his con- 
fidence and esteem, and who was acquainted with all his 
designs except the last. He, hearing that a letter had ar- 
rived, and supposing that there would be occasion, as usual, 
for his assistance or suggestions, went into the tent, and, 
whilst his master was asleep, took up the letter thrown care- 
lessly upon the cushion behind his head 1 , and read it ; and, 
having thus discovered the plot, set off in haste to Jugurtha. 
jSabdalsa, who awoke soon after, missing the letter, and 
hearing of the whole affair, and how it had happened, at first 
attempted to pursue the informer, but finding that pursuit 
was vain, he went himself to Jugurtha, to try to appease 
him ; saying that the disclosure which he intended to make, 
had been anticipated by the perfidy of his servant ; and be- 
seeching him with tears, by his friendship, and by his own 
former proofs of fidelity, not to think that he could be guilty 
of such treachery. 
• r . LXXII. To these intreaties the king replied with a mild- 
ness far different from his real feelings. After putting to 
death Bomilcar, and many others whom he knew to be privy 
to the plot, he refrained from any further manifestation of 

1 LXXI. Behind his head] Super caput On the back of the bolster that 
supported his head ; part of which might be higher than the head itself. 

M 



162 SALLTJST. 

resentment, lest an insurrection should be the consequence 
of it. But after this occurrence he had no peace either by 
day or by night ; he thought himself safe neither in any place, 
nor with any person, nor at any time ; he feared his subjects 
I and his enemies alike ; he was always on the watch, and was 
startled at every sound ; he passed the night sometimes in 
one place, and sometimes in another, and often in places 
little suited to royal dignity ; and sometimes, starting from 
his sleep, he would seize his arms and raise an alarm. He 
was indeed so agitated by extreme terror, that he appeared 
under the influence of madness. 

LXXIII. Metellus, hearing from some deserters of the 
fate of Bomilcar, and the discovery of the conspiracy, made 
fresh preparations for action, and with the utmost despatch, 
as if entering upon an entirely new war. Marius, who was 
still importuning him for leave of absence, he allowed to go 
home ; thinking that as he served with reluctance, and bore 
him personal enmity, he was not likely to prove a very useful 
officer. 

The common people at Rome, having learned the contents 
of the letters written from Africa concerning Metellus and 
Marius, had listened to the accounts given of both with 
eagerness. But the noble birth of Metellus, which had pre- 
viously been a motive for paying him honour, had now become 
a cause of unpopularity ; while the obscurity of Marius' s 
origin had procured him favour. In regard to both, however, 
party feeling had more influence than the good or bad qua- 
lities of either. The factious tribunes 1 , too, inflamed the 
populace, charging Metellus, in their harangues, with offences 
worthy of death, and exaggerating the excellent qualities of 
Marius. At length the people were so excited, that all 
the artisans and rustics, whose whole subsistence and credit 
depended on their labour, quitting their several employments, 
attended Marius in crowds, and thought less of their own 
wants than of his exaltation. Thus the nobility being borne 
down, the consulship, after the lapse of many years 3 , was 

1 LXXIII. The factious tribunes] Seditiosi magistratus. 

2 After the lapse of many years] Post multas tempestates. Apparently the 
period since A.u.c. 611, when Quintus Pompeius, who, as Cicero says (in Verr. 
ii., 5), was liumili atque obscuro loco natus, obtained the consulship ; that is, a 
term of forty-three or forty-four years. 






THE JUGUETHI^E WAK. 163 



once more given to a man of humble birth. And afterwards, 
when the people were asked By ilanilius Mancinus, one of 
j their tribunes, whom they would appoint to carry on the war 
; against Jugurtha, they, in a full assembly, yoted it to Marias. 
The senate had previously decreed it to Metellus ; but that 
decree was thus rendered abortive 1 . 

LXXIV. During this period, Jugurtha, as he was bereft 
of his friends (of whom he had put to death the greater 
number, while the rest, under the influence of terror, had 
fled partly to the Eomans, and partly to Bocchus), as the 
war, too, could not be carried on without officers, and as he 
thought it dangerous to try the faith of new ones after such 
perfidy among the old, was involved in doubt and perplexity ; 
no scheme, no counsel, no person could satisfy him; he 
changed his route and his captains daily ; he hurried some- 
times against the enemy, and sometimes towards the deserts ; 
depended at one time on flight, and at another on resistance ; 
and was unable to decide whether he could less trust the cou- 
rage or the fidelity of his subjects. Thus, in whatever direc- 
tion he turned his thoughts, the prospect was equally dis- 
heartening. 

In the midst of his irresolution, Metellus suddenly made 
his appearance with his army. The Numidians were assem- 
bled and drawn up by Jugurtha, as well as time permitted ; 
and a battle was at once commenced. Where the king com- 
manded in person, the struggle was maintained for some 
time ; but the rest of his force was routed and put to 
flight at the first onset. The Eomans took a considerable 
number of standards and arms, but not many prisoners ; for, 
in almost every battle, their feet afforded more security to 
the JNumidians than their swords. 

LXXV. In consequence of this defeat, Jugurtha, feeling 

1 That decree was thus rendered abortive] Ea res f rostra fait. By a lex 
Sempronia, a law of Caius Gracchus, it was enacted that the senate should fix 
the provinces for the future consuls before the comitia for electing them were 
held. But from Jug. c. 26, it appears that the consuls might settle by lot, or by 
agreement between themselves, which of those two provinces each of them should 
take. How far the senate were allowed or accustomed, in general, to interfere in 
the arrangement, it is not easy to discover ; but on this occasion they had taken 
upon themselves to pass a resolution in favour of the patrician. Lest similar 
scenes, however, to those of the Sempronian times should be enacted, they yielded 
the point to the people. 

m2 



164 SALLUST. 

less confidence in the state of his affairs than ever, retreated 
with the deserters, and part of his cavalry, first into the 
deserts, and afterwards to Thala 1 , a large and opulent city, 
where lay the greater portion of his treasures, and where 
there was magnificent provision for the education of his 
children. When Metellus was informed of this, although he 
knew that there was, between Thala and the nearest river, a 
dry and desert region fifty miles broad, yet, in the hope of 
finishing the war if he should gain possession of the town, 
he resolved to surmount all difficulties, and to conquer even 
JNature herself. He gave orders that the beasts of burden, 
therefore, should be lightened of all the baggage excepting 
ten days' provision ; and that they should be laden with skins 
and other utensils for holding water. He also collected from 
the fields as many labouring cattle as he could find, and 
loaded them with vessels of all sorts, but chiefly wooden, 
taken from the cottages of the JNumidians. He directed 
such of the neighbouring people, too, as had submitted to 
him after the retreat of Jugurtha, to bring him as much 
water as they could carry, appointing a time and place for 
them to be in attendance. He then loaded his beasts from 
the river, which, as I have intimated, was the nearest water 
to the town, and, thus provided, set out for Thala. 

When he came to the place at which he had desired the 
JSuinidians to meet him, and had pitched and fortified his 
camp, so copious a fall of rain is said to have happened, as 
would have furnished more than sufficient water for his whole 
army. Provisions, too, were brought him far beyond his ex- 
pectations ; for the INumidians, like most people after a recent 
surrender, had done more than was required of them 2 . The 
men, however, from a religious feeling, preferred using the 
rain-water ; the fall of which greatly increased their courage, 

1 LXXV. Thala] The river on which this town stood is not named by Sallust, 
but it appears to have been the Bagrada. It seems to have been nearly destroyed 
by the Romans, after the defeat of Juba, in the time of Julius Ca3sar ; though 
Tacitus, Ann. hi., 21, mentions it as having afforded a refuge to the Romans in 
the insurrection of the Numidian chief, Tacfarinas. D'Anville, and Dr. Shaw, 
Travels in Bombay, vol. i., pt. 2, eh. 5, think it the same with Telepte, now 
Ferre-anah; but this is very doubtful. See Cellar, iv., 5. It was in ruins in 
the time of Strabo. 

2 Had done more than was required of them] Officia intenderant. " Auxit 
intendilque sawitiam exacerbatus indicio filii sui Drusi." Suet. Tib. 62. 



THE JrGHTBTHrSTE WAK. 165 

for they thought themselves the peculiar care of the gods. 
On the next day, to the surprise of Jugurtha, they arrived 
at Thala. The inhabitants, who had thought themselves 
secured by the difficulties of the approach to them, were 
astonished at so strange and unexpected a sight, but, never- 
theless, prepared for their defence. Our men showed equal 
alacrity on their side. 

LXXVI. But Jugurtha himself, believing that to 31 e- 
tellus, who, by his exertions, had triumphed over every 
obstacle, over arms, deserts, seasons, and finally over Xature 
herself that controls all, nothing was impossible, fled with his 
children, and a great portion of his treasure, from the city 
during the night. Xor did he ever, after this time, continue 1 
more than one day or night in any place ; pretending to be 
hurried away by business, but in reality dreading treachery, 
which he thought he might escape by change of residence, 
as schemes of such a kind are the consequence of leisure and 
opportunity. 

-Metellus, seeing that the people of Thala were determined 
on resistance, and that the town was defended both by art 
and situation, surrounded the walls with a rampart and a 
trench. He then directed his machines against the most 
I eligible points, threw up a mound, and erected towers upon 
< it to protect 2 the works and the workmen. The townsmen, 
\ on the other hand, were exceedingly active and diligent ; and 
nothing was neglected on either side. At last the Eomans, 
though exhausted with much previous fatigue and fighting, 
got possession, forty clays after their arrival, of the town, 
and the town only; for all the spoil had been destroyed by 
the deserters ; who, when they saw the walls shaken by the 
battering-ram, and their own situation desperate, had con- 
veyed the gold and silver, and whatever else is esteemed 
valuable, to the royal palace, where, after being sated with 
wine and luxuries, they destroyed the treasures, the building, 

1 LXXyi. Nor did he ever — continue, <J*c] Neque postea — moratus, simulabat, 
4'c. Most editors take moratus for morans : Allen places a colon after it, as if it 
were for moratus est. 

2 And erected towers upon it to protect, cj-c] Et super aggerem impositis tur- 
ribus opus et administros tutari. " And protected the work and the workmen 
with towers placed on the mound." Impositis turribus is not the ablative abso- 
lute, but the ablative of the instrument. 



166 SALLUST. 

and themselves, by fire, and thus voluntarily submitted to 
the sufferings which, in case of being conquered, they dreaded 
at the hands of the enemy. 

LXXVII. At the very time that Thala was taken, there 
came to Metellus ambassadors from the city of Leptis 1 , re- 
questing him to send them a garrison and a governor ; saying 
" that a certain Hamilcar, a man of rank, and of a factious 
disposition, against whom the magistrates and the laws 
were alike powerless, was trying to induce them to 
change sides ; and that unless he attended to the matter 
promptly, their own safety 2 , and the allies of Rome, would 
be in the utmost danger." For the people at Leptis, at the 
very commencement of the war with Jugurtha, had sent to 
the consul Eestia, and afterwards to Eome, desiring to be 
admitted into friendship and alliance with us. Having been 
granted their request, they continued true and faithful 
adherents to us, and promptly executed all orders from 
Eestia, Albinus, and Metellus. They therefore readily ob- 
tained from the general the aid which they solicited ; and 
four cohorts of Ligurians were despatched to Leptis, with 
Caius Annius to be governor of the place. 

LXXVIII. This city was built by a party of Sidonians, 
/ who, as I have understood, being driven from their country 
through civil dissensions, came by sea into those parts of 
Africa. It is situated between the two Syrtes, which take 
their name from their nature 3 . These are two gulfs almost 
at the extremity of Africa 4 , of unequal size, but of similar 

1 LXXVII. Leptis] Leptis Major, now Lebida. In c. 19, Leptis Minor is 
meant. 

2 Their own safety] Snam salutem : i. e. the safety of the people of Leptis. 

3 LXXVIII. Which take their name from their nature] Quibus nomen ex 
re inditum* From crvpew, to draw, because the stones and sand were drawn to 
and fro by the force of the wind and tide. But it has been suggested that this 
etymology is probably false ; it is less likely that their name should be from the 
Greek than from the Arabic, in which sert signifies a desert tract or region, a 
term still applied to the desert country bordering on the Syrtes. See Bitter, 
Allgem. vergleich. Geog. vol. i., p. 929. The words which, in Havercamp, close 
this description of the Syrtes, " Syrtes ab tractu nominate," and which Grater 
and Putschius suspected not to be Sallust's, Cortius omitted ; and his example 
has been followed by Miiller and Burnouf ; Gerlach, Kritzius, and Dietsch, have 
retained them. Gerlach, however, thinks them a gloss, though they are found in 
every manuscript but one. 

4 Almost at the extremity of Africa] Prope in extremd AfiHcd. " By extrema 



THE JUGURTHIKE W1E. 167 

character. Those parts of them next to the land are very- 
deep ; the other parts sometimes deep and sometimes shal- 
low, as chance may direct ; for when the sea swells, and is 
agitated by the winds, the waves roll along with them mud, 
sand, and hnge stones • and thus the appearance of the gulfs 
changes with the direction of wind. 

Of this people, the language alone 1 has been altered by 
their intermarriages with the Numidians ; their laws and 
customs continue for the most part Sidonian; which they 
have preserved with the greater ease, through living at so 
- great a distance from the king's dominions 2 . Between them 
and the populous parts of JNuinidia lie vast and uncultivated 
deserts. 

LXXIX. Since the affairs of Leptis have led me into 
these regions, it will not be foreign to my subject to relate 
the noble and singular act of two Carthaginians, which the 
place has brought to my recollection. 

At the time when the Carthaginians were masters of the 
greater part of Africa, the Cyrenians were also a great and 
powerful people. The territory that lay between them was 
sandy, and of a uniform appearance, without a stream or a 
hill to determine their respective boundaries ; a circumstance 
which involved them in a severe and protracted war. After 
armies and fleets had been routed and put to flight on both 
sides, and each people had greatly weakened their opponents, 
fearing lest some third party should attack both victors and 
vanquished in a state of exhaustion, they came to an agree- 
ment, during a short cessation of arms, " that on a certain 
day deputies should leave home on either side, and that the 
spot where they should meet should be the common boun- 
dary between the two states." Erom Carthage, accordingly, 
were despatched two brothers, who were named Philaeni 3 , 

Africa Gerlach rightly understands the eastern part of Africa, bordering on 
Egypt, and at a great distance from Numidia." Kritzius. 

1 The language alone] Lingua modb. 

2 From the king's dominions] Ah imperio regis. " Understand Masinissa's, 
Micipsa's, or Jugurtha's." Burnouf. 

3 LXXIX. Philseni] The account of these Carthaginian brothers with a Greek 
name, tyiXaLvoi, praise-loving, is probably a fable. Cortius thinks that the in- 
habitants, observing two mounds rising above the surrounding level, fancied they 
must have been raised, not by nature, but by human labour, and invented a story 
to account for their existence. " The altars," according to Mr. Kennell (Geog. 



168 



SALLUST. 



and who travelled with great expedition. The deputies of 
the Cyrenians proceeded more slowly; but whether from 
indolence or accident I have ilot been informed. However, a 
storm of wind in these deserts will cause obstruction to 
passengers not less than at sea ; for when a violent blast, 
sweeping over a level surface devoid of vegetation 1 , raises the 
sand from the ground, it is driven onward with great force, 
and fills the mouth and eyes of the traveller, and thus, by 
hindering his view, retards his progress. The Cyrenian de- 
puties, finding that they had lost ground, and dreading 
punishment at home for their mismanagement, accused the 
Carthaginians of having left home before the time ; quar- 
relling about the matter, and preferring to do anything 
rather than submit. The Philseni, upon this, asked them to 
name any other mode of settling the controversy, provided it 
were equitable ; and the Gyrenians gave them their choice, 
" either that they should be buried alive in the spot which 
they claimed as the boundary for their people, or that they 
themselves, on the same conditions, should be allowed to go 
forward to whatever point they should think proper." The 
Philaeni, having accepted the conditions, sacrificed them- 
selves 2 to the interest of their country, and were interred 
alive. The people of Carthage consecrated altars to the 
brothers on the spot ; and other honours were instituted to 
them at home. 1 now return to my subject. 

LXXX. After the loss of Thala, Jugurtha, thinking no 
place sufficiently secure against Metellus, fled with a few fol- 
lowers into the country of the Gretulians, a people savage and 

of Herod., p. 640), " were situated about seven-ninths of the way from Carthage 
to Cyrene; and the deception," he adds, " would have been too gross, had it been 
pretended that the Carthaginian party had travelled seven parts in nine, while 
the Cyrenians had travelled no more than two such parts of the way." Pliny 
(H. N. v. 4) says that the altars were of sand ; Strabo (lib. iii.) says that in his 
time they had vanished. Pomponius Mela and Valerius Maximus repeat the 
story, but without adding anything to render it more probable. 

1 Devoid of vegetation] Nuda gignentlum. Soc. 93, cuncta gignentiumnatura. 
Kritzius justly observes that gignentia is not to be taken in the sense of genita, as 
Cortius and others interpret, but in its own active sense; the ground was bare of 
all that ivas productive, or of whatever generates anything. This interpretation 
is suggested by Perizonius ad Sanctii Minerv. i., 15. 

2 Sacrificed themselves] Seque vltamque — condohavere. %i Nihil aliud est 
quam vitam suam ) sc. €v dia dvoiv. 9 A lien. 



: 



THE JTTGUETHLSE WAE. 169 

uncivilised, and, at that period, unacquainted with even the 
name of Rome. Of these barbarians he collected a great 
multitude, and trained them by degrees to march in ranks, to 
follow standards, to obey the word of command, and to per- 
form other military exercises. He also gained over to his 
interest, by large presents and larger promises, the intimate 
friends of king Bocchus, and working upon the king by their 
means, induced him to commence war against the Romans. 
This was the more practicable and easy, because Bocchus, at 
the commencement of hostilities with Jugurtha, had sent an 
embassy to Rome to solicit friendship and alliance ; but a 
faction, blinded by avarice, and accustomed to sell their votes 
on every question honourable or dishonourable 1 , had caused 
his advances to be rejected, though they were of the highest 
consequence to the war recently begun. A daughter of 
Bocchus, too, was married to Jugurtha 3 ; but such a con- 
nexion, among the Numidians and Moors, is but lightly re- 
garded ; for every man has as many wives as he pleases, in 
proportion to his ability to maintain them ; some ten, others 
more, but the kings most of all. Thus the affection of the 
husband is divided among a multitude ; no one of them be- 
comes a companion to him 3 , but all are equally neglected. 

LXXXI. The two kings, with their armies 4 , met in a place 
settled by mutual agreement, where, after pledges of amity 



1 LXXX. Sell — honourable or dishonourable] Omnia honesta atque inhonesta 
vender e. See Cat. c. 30. They had been bribed by Jugurtha to use their influ- 
ence against Bocchus. 

2 A daughter of Bocchus, too, was married to Jugurtha] Jugurthm filia Bocchi 
nupserat. Several manuscripts and old editions have Boccho, making Bocchus 
the son-in-law of Jugurtha. But Plutarch (Vit. Mar. c. 10, Sull. c. 3) and 
Florus (hi., 1) agree in speaking of him as Jugurtha's father-in-law. Bocchus 
was doubtless an older man than Jugurtha, having a grown up son, Volux, 
c. 105. Castilioneus and Cortius, therefore, saw the necessity of reading Bocchi, 
and other editors have followed them, except Gerlach, "who," says Kritzius, 
" has given Boccki in his larger, and Boccho in his smaller and more recent 
edition, in order that readers using both may have an opportunity of making a 
choice." 

3 No one of them becomes a companion to him] Nulla pro socio, obtinet. The 
use of obtinet absolutely, or with the word dependent on it understood, prevails 
chiefly among the later Latin writers. Livy, however, has fama obtinuit, xxi., 46. 
41 The tiro is to be reminded," says Dietsch, " that obtinet is not the same as 
habetur, but is always for hcum obtinet." 

4 LXXXI. The two kings, with their armies] The text has only exercitus. 



170 SALLTTST. 



were given and received, Jugurtha inflamed the mind of 
Bocchus by observing that the Romans were a lawless people, 
of insatiable covetonsness, and the common enemies of man- 
kind ; that they had the same motive for making war on 
Bocchns as on himself and other nations, the Inst of domi- 
nion ; that all independent states were objects of hatred to 
them ; at present, for instance, himself ; a little before, the 
Carthaginians had been so, as well as king Perses ; and that, 
in future, as any sovereign became conspicuous for his power, 
so would he assuredly be treated as an enemy by the Bo- 
mans." 

Induced by these and similar considerations, they deter- 
mined to march against Cirta, where Metellus had deposited 
his plunder, prisoners, and baggage. Jugurtha supposed 
that, if he took the city, there would be ample recompense 
for his exertions ; or that, if the Boman general came to 
succour his adherents, he would have the opportunity of en- 
gaging him in the field. He also hastened this movement 
from policy, to lessen Bocchus's chance of peace 1 ; lest, if de- 
lay should be allowed, he should decide upon something dif- 
ferent from war. 

LXXXII. Metellus, when he heard of the confederacy of 
the kings, did not rashly, or in every place, give opportunities 
of fighting, as he had been used to do since Jugurtha had 
been so often defeated, but, fortifying his camp, awaited the 
approach of the kings at no great distance from Cirta; think- 
ing it better, when he should have learned something of the 
Moors 2 , as they were new enemies in the field, to give battle 
on an advantage. 

In the mean time he was informed, by letters from Borne, 
that the province of JNumidia was assigned to Marius, of 
whose election to the consulship he had already heard. 

Being affected at these occurrences beyond what was proper 
and decorous, he could neither restrain his tears nor govern 

1 To lessen Bocchus's chance of peace] Bocclii pacem imminuere. He wished 
to engage Bocchus in some act of hostility against the Romans, so as to render 
any coalition between them impossible. 

2 LXXXII. Should have learned something of the Moors] Cognitis Mauris, i. e. 
after knowing something of the Moors, and not before, Cognitis militibu.s is used 
in the same way in c. 39; and Dietsch says that amicitia Jugurtha? par um cog- 
nita is for nondum cognita, c. 14. 



. 



THE JUGUETHINE WAE. 171 

J his tongue ; for though, he was a man eminent in. other respects, 
he had too little firmness in bearing trouble of mind. His 
irritation was by some imputed to pride ; others said that a 
noble spirit was wounded by insult ; many thought him 
chagrined because victory, just attained, was snatched from 
his grasp. Eut to me it is well known that he was more 
troubled at the honour bestowed on Marius than at the in- 
justice done to himself; and that he would have shown much 
less uneasiness if the province of which he was deprived had 
been given to any other than Marius. 

LXXXIIL Discouraged, therefore, by such a mortifica- 
tion, and thinking it folly to promote another man's success 
at his own hazard, he sent deputies to Bocchus, intreating 
him " not to become an enemy to the Romans without cause ;" 
and observing " that he had a fine opportunity of entering 
into friendship and alliance with them, which were far pre- 
ferable to war ; that though he might have confidence in his 
resources, he ought not to change certainties for uncertain- 
ties ; that a war was easily begun, but discontinued with 
difficulty ; that its commencement and conclusion were not 
dependent on the same party ; that any one, even a coward, 
might commence hostilities, but that they could be broken 
off only when the conqueror thought proper ; and that he 
should therefore consult for his interest and that of his king- 
dom, and not connect his own prosperous circumstances with 
the ruined fortunes of Jugurtha." To these representations 
the king mildly answered, " that he desired peace, but felt 
compassion for the condition of Jugurtha, to whom if similar 
proposals were made, all would easily be arranged." Me- 
tellus, in reply to this request of Bocchus, sent deputies with 
overtures, of which the king approved some, and rejected 
others. Thus, in sending messengers to and fro, the time 
passed away, and the war, according to the consul's desire, 
was protracted without being advanced. 

. LXXXIV. Marius, who, as I said before, had been made 
consul with great eagerness on the part of the populace, 
began, though he had always been hostile to the patricians, 
to inveigh against them, after the people gave him the pro- 
vince of JSTumidia, with great frequency and violence ; he at- 
tacked them sometimes individually and sometimes in a body ; 
he said that he had snatched from them the consulship as 



172 



SALLTJST. 



spoils from vanquished enemies ; and uttered other remarks 
laudatory to himself and offensive to them. Meanwhile he 
made the provision for the war his chief object ; he asked for 
reinforcements for the legions ; he sent for auxiliaries from 
foreign states, kings, and allies ; he also enlisted all the 
bravest men from Latium, most of whom were known to him 
by actual service, eome few only by report, and induced, by 
earnest solicitation, even discharged veterans 1 to accompany 
him. ISTor did the senate, though adverse to him, dare to re- 
fuse him anything ; the additions to the legions they had voted 
even with eagerness, because military service was thought 
to be unpopular with the multitude, and Marius seemed 
likely to lose either the means of warfare 2 , or the favour of 
the people. But such expectations were entertained in vain, 
so ardent was the desire of going with Marius that had seized 
on almost all. Every one cherished the fancy 3 that he should 
return home laden with spoil, crowned with victory, or at- 
tended with some similar good fortune. Marius himself, too, 
had excited them i in no small degree by a speech; for, when 
all that he required was granted, and he was anxious to com- 
mence a levy, he called an assembly of the people, as well to 
encourage them to enlist, as to inveigh, according to his prac- 
tice, against the nobility. He spoke, on the occasion, as follows: 
LXXXV. " I am aware, my fellow-citizens, that most men 
do not appear as candidates before you for an office, and con- 
duct themselves in it when they have obtained it, under the 
same character ; that they are at first industrious, humble, 
and modest, but afterwards lead a life of indolence and arro- 
gance. But to me it appears that the contrary should be 
the case ; for as the whole state is of greater consequence 
than the single office of consulate or prsetorship, so its in- 
terests ought to be managed 4 with greater solicitude than 

1 LXXXIV. Discharged veterans] Homines emeritis stipendiis. Soldiers who 
had completed their terra of service. 

2 Means of warfare] Usum belli. That is ea quae belli usus posceret, troops 
and supplies. 

3 Cherished the fancy] Animis trahebant. " Trahere animo is always to re- 
volve in the mind, not to let the thought of a thing escape from the mind." 
Kritzius. 

4 LXXXV. Its interests ought to be managed, cj-c. ] , Majore curd Mam admi- 
nislrari quam hcec peti debere. Cortius injudiciously omits the word Mam. Xo 
one has followed him but Allen. 






THE JUGURTHItfE WAS. 173 

these magistracies are sought. JSTor am I insensible how 
great a weight of business I am, through your kindness, 
called upon to sustain. To make preparations for war, and 
yet to be sparing of the treasury ; to press those into the 
service whom I am unwilling to offend ; to direct everything 
at home and abroad; and to discharge these duties when 
surrounded by the envious, the hostile 1 , and the factious, is 
more difficult, my fellow-citizens, than is generally imagined. 
In addition to this, if others fail in their undertakings, their 
ancient rank, the heroic actions of their ancestors, the power 
of their relatives and connexions, their numerous dependents, 
are all at hand to support them ; but as for me, my whole 
hopes rest upon myself, which I must sustain by good con- 
duct and integrity ; for all other means are unavailing. 

I am sensible, too, my fellow-citizens, that the eyes of all 
men are turned upon me ; that the just and good favour me, 
as my services are beneficial to the state, but that the nobility 
seek occasion to attack me. I must therefore use the greater 
exertion, that you may not be deceived in me 2 , and that their 
views may be rendered abortive. I have led such a life, 
indeed, from my boyhood to the present hour, that I am 
familiar with every kind of toil and danger ; and that exertion, 
which, before your kindness to me, I practised gratuitously, 
it is not my intention to relax after having received my re- 
ward. For those who have pretended to be men of worth 
only to secure their election 3 , it may be difficult to conduct 
themselves properly in office ; but to me, who have passed my 
whole life in the most honourable occupations, to act well 
has from habit become nature. 

" You have commanded me to carry on the war against 
Jugurtha ; a commission at which the nobility are highly 
offended. Consider with yourselves, I pray you, whether it 
' would be a change for the better, if you were to send to this, or 

1 Hostile] Occur santis. Thwarting, opposing. 

2 That you may not be deceived in me] Ut neque vos capiamini. " This verb 
is undoubtedly used in this passage for decipere. Compare Tibull. Eleg. iii., 6, 45 : 
Nee vos aut capiant pendentia brachia collo, Aut f allot blanda sordida lingua 
prece. Cic. Acad, iv., 20: Sapientis vim maximam esse cavere, ne capiaturT 
Gerlach. 

3 To secure their election] Per ambitionem, Amhire is to canvass for votes ; 
to court the favour of the people. 






174 SALLTTST. 

to any other such appointment, one of yonder crowd of nobles 1 , 
a man of ancient family, of innumerable statues, and of no 
military experience ; in order, forsooth, that in so important 
an office, and being ignorant of everything connected with it, 
he may exhibit hurry and trepidation, and select one of the 
people to instruct him in his duty. For so it generally hap- 
pens, that he whom you have chosen to direct, seeks another 
to direct him. I know some, my fellow-citizens, who, after 
they have been elected 3 consuls, have begun to read the acts 
of their ancestors, and the military precepts of the Greeks ; 
persons who invert the order of things 3 ; for though to dis- 
charge the duties of the office 4 is posterior, in point of time, 
to election, it is, in reality and practical importance, prior 
to it. 

.- ^ Compare now, my fellow-citizens, me, who am a neiv man, 

with those haughty nobles 5 . "What they have but heard or 
read, I have witnessed or performed. What they have learned 
from books, I have acquired in the field ; and whether deeds 
or words are of greater estimation, it is for you to consider. 
They despise my humbleness of birth ; I contemn their imbe- 
cility. My condition 6 is made an objection to me ; their mis- 

1 Of yonder crowd of nobles] Ex illo globo nobilitatis. Illo, §€lktik.(ds. 

2 I know some — who after they have been elected, $c.~] "At whom Marius 
directs this observation, it is impossible to tell. Gerlach, referring to Cic. Qua?st. 
Acad, ii., 1, 2, thinks that Lucullus is meant. But if he supposes that Lucullus 
was. present to the mind of Marius when he spoke, he is egregiously deceived, for 
Marius was forty years antecedent to Lucullus. It is possible, however, that 
Sattust, thinking of Lucullus when he wrote Marius's speech, may have fallen 
into an anachronism, and have attributed to Marius, whose character he had 
assumed, an observation which might justly have been made in his own day." 
Kritzius. 

3 Persons who invert the order of things] Homines prceposteri. Men who do 
that last which should be done first. 

4 For though to discharge the duties of the office, #c] Nam gerere, quixm 
fieri, tempore poster ius, re atone usu prius est. With gerere is to be understood 

consulatum ; with fieri, consulem. This is imitated from Demosthenes, Olynth. iii. : 
To yap TrpdrreLV tov Xeyew koll x iEl P 0T0V€Lv ^ vo-Ttpov ov tjj rd£et, irpo- 
T€pov rrj 8vvdfM€L <al Kpeirrov ecrri. " Acting is posterior in order to speaking 
and voting, but prior and superior in effect." 

5 With those haughty nobles] Cum illorum superb id. Virtus Scipiadai et mitis 
sapientia Lceli. 

6 My condition] Mihi for tuna. "That is, my lot, or condition, in which I 
was born, and which I had no hand in producing." Dietsch. 



THE JTJGTJRTHrNE WAR. 175 

conduct is a reproach to them. The circumstance of birth 1 , 
indeed, I consider as one and the same to all ; but think that 
he who best exerts himself is the noblest. And could it be 
inquired of the fathers 3 , of Albinus and Bestia, whether they 
would rather be the parents of them or of me, what do you 
suppose that they would answer, but that they would wish 
the most deserving to be their offspring ? If the patricians 
justly despise me, let them also despise their own ancestors, 
whose nobility, like mine, had its origin in merit. They 
envy me the honour that I have received ; let them also envy 
me the toils, the abstinence 3 , and the perils, by which I ob- 
tained that honour. But they, men eaten up with pride, live 
as if they disdained all the distinctions that you can bestow, 
and yet sue for those distinctions as if they had lived so as 
to merit them. Yet those are assuredly deceived, who 
expect to enjoy, at the same time, things so incompatible 
as the pleasures of indolence and the rewards of honourable 
exertion 4 . 

y "When they speak before you, or in the senate, they 

1 The circumstance of birth, <fc] Naturam unam et communem omnium ex- 
istumo. " Nascendi sortem" is the explanation which Dietsch gives to naturam. 
One man is bom as well as another, but the difference between men is made by 
their different modes of action ; a difference which the nobles falsely suppose to 
proceed from fortune. " Voltaire, Mahomet, Act. I. sc. iv., has expressed the sen- 
timent of Sallust exactly : 

Les mortels sont egaux, ce n'est point la naissance, 
C'est la seule vertu qui fait leur difference." Burnouf. 

2 And could it be inquired of the fathers, cf-c] Ac, si jam ex patribus Albini 
aut Bestial quceri posset, $c. Patres, in this passage, is not, as Anthon ima- 
gines, the same as majores ; as is apparent from the word gigni. The fathers of 
Albinus and Bestia were probably dead at the time that Marius spoke. The pas- 
sage which Anthon quotes from Plutarch to illustrate patres, is not applicable, 
for the word there is irpoyovoi : ^'ETrvvBdvero rcov TrapovTcov, it fit) Kal rovs 
€K€lvcov oiovtcli irpoyovovs dvTco p.dXkov dv evtjacrOai Trapairk-qo-iovs 
eKyovovs d7ToXt7r€LV, are drj firjd dvrovs t)c evyevecav, dXX aw dperrjs 
Kal Ka\cov epycov €v$6£ovs yevofiivovs. Vit. Mar. c. 9. " He would then 
ask the people whether they did not think that the ancestors of those men would 
have wished rather to leave a posterity like him, since they themselves had not 
risen to glory by their high birth, but by their virtue and heroic achievements?" 
Langhorne. 

3 Abstinence] Innocentiai. Abstinence from all vicious indulgence. 

4 Honourable exertion] Virtutis. See notes on Cat. c. 1, and Jug. c. 1. 



176 SALLXJST. 

occupy the greatest part of their orations in extolling their 
ancestors 1 ; for, they suppose that, by recounting the heroic 
deeds of their forefathers, they render themselves more il- 
lustrious. But the reverse of this is the case ; for the more 
glorious were the lives of their ancestors, the more scandalous 
is their own inaction. The truth, indeed, is plainly this, 
that the glory of ancestors sheds a light on their posterity 2 , 
which suffers neither their virtues nor their vices to be con- 
cealed. Of this light, my fellow-citizens, I have no share ; 
but I have, what confers much more distinction, the power 
of relating my own actions. Consider, then, how unreason- 
able they are ; what they claim to themselves for the merit of 
others, they will not grant to me for my own ; alleging, for- 
sooth, that I have no statues, and that my distinction is 
newly acquired ; but it is surely better to have acquired such 
distinction myself than to bring disgrace on that received 
from others. 

" I am not ignorant, that, if they were inclined to reply to 
me, they would make an abundant display of eloquent and 
artful language. Yet, since they attack both you and myself, 
on occasion of the great favour which you have conferred 
upon me, I did not think proper to be silent before them, 
lest any one should construe my forbearance into a conscious- 
ness of demerit. As for myself, indeed, nothing that is said 
of me, I feel assured 3 , can do me injury ; for what is true, 
must of necessity speak in my favour ; what is false, my life 
and character will refute. But since your judgment, in be- 
stowing on me so distinguished an honour and so important 
a trust, is called in question, consider, I beseech you, again 
and again, whether you are likely to repent of what you 
have done. I cannot, to raise your confidence in me, boast 

1 They occupy the greatest part of their orations in extolling their ancestors] 
Plerdque oratione majores suos extollunt. " They extol their ancestors in the 
greatest part of their speech." 

2 The glory of ancestors sheds a light on their posterity] Juvenal, viii., 138 : 

Incipit ipsorum contra te stare parentum 
Nobilitas, claramque facem prreferre pudendis. 

Thy fathers' virtues, clear and bright, display 
Thy shameful deeds, as with the light of day. 

3 I feel assured] Ex animi sententid, " It was a common form of strong 
asseveration." Gerlach. 



THE JUGUETHIKE ¥AE. 177 

of the statues, or triumphs, or consulships of my ancestors ; 
but, if it be thought necessary, I can show you spears 1 , a 
banner 3 , caparisons 3 for horses, and other military rewards ; 
besides the scars of wounds on my breast. These are my 
statues ; this is my nobility ; honours, not left, like theirs, 
by inheritance, but acquired amidst innumerable toils and 
dangers. 

" My speech, they say, is inelegant ; but that I have ever 
thought of little importance. Worth sufficiently displays 
itself; it is for my detractors to use studied language, that 
they may palliate base conduct by plausible words. Xor 
have I learned Greek ; for I had no wish to acquire a tongue 
that adds nothing to the valour 4 of those who teach it. But 
I have gained other accomplishments, such as are of the 
utmost benefit to a state ; I have learned to strike down an 
enemy ; to be vigilant at my post 5 ; to fear nothing but dis- 

1 Spears] Hastas. "A haUapura, that is a spear without iron, was anciently 
the reward of a soldier the first time that he conquered in battle, Serv. ad Virg. 
JEn. vi., 760 ; it was afterwards given to one who had struck down an enemy 
in a sally or skirmish, Lips, ad Polyb. de Milit. Rom. v., 17." Burnouf. 

2 A banner] Vexillum. " Standards were also military rewards. Vopiscus re- 
lates that ten kastce puree, and four standards of two colours, were presented to 
Aurelian. Suetonius (Aug. 25) says that Agrippa was presented by Augustus, 
after his naval victory, with a standard of the colour of the sea. These standards 
therefore, were not, as Badius Ascensius thinks, always taken from the enemy ; 
though this was sometimes the case, as appears from Sil. Ital. xv., 261: 

Tunc hasta viris, tunc martia cuique 
Vexilla, ut meritum, et prasda? libamina, dantur." Burnouf. 

3 Caparisons] Phaleras. " Sil. Ital. xv., 255: 

Phaleris hie pectora fulget: 

Hie torque aurato circumdat bellica colla. 
Juvenal, xv., 60 : 

Ut lreti phaleris omnes et torqidbus omnes. 
These passages show that phalerce, a name for the ornaments of horses, were 
also decorations of men ; but they differed from the torques, or collars, in this 
respect, that the phalerce hung down over the breast, and the torques only en- 
circled the neck. See Lips, ad Poiyb. de Milit. Eom. v., 17." Burnouf. 

4 Valour] Virtutem. " The Greeks, tbose illustrious instructors of the world,, 
had not been able to preserve their liberty ; their learning therefore had not added 
to their valour. Virtus, in this passage, is evidently fortitudo bellica, which, in 
the opinion of Marius, was the only virtue" Burnouf. See Plutarch, Vit. Mar. c. 2. 

5 To be vigilant at my post] Prossidia agitare. Or "to keep guard at my 
post." " Proesidia agitare signifies nothing more than to protect a party of 
foragers or the baggage, or to keep guard round a besieged city." Cortius. 



178 SALLTTST. 

honour ; to bear cold and heat with equal endurance ; to 
sleep on the ground ; and to sustain at the same time hunger 
and fatigue. And with such rules of conduct I shall stimu- 
late my soldiers, not treating them with rigour and myself 
witk indulgence, nor making their toils my glory. Such a 
mode of commanding is at once useful to the state, and 
becoming to a citizen. [For to coerce your troops with 
severity, while you yourself live at ease, is to be a tyrant, not 
a general. 

; " It was by conduct such as this, my fellow-citizens, that 
your ancestors made themselves and the republic renowned. 
Our nobility, relying on their forefathers' merits, though totally 
different from them in conduct, disparage us who emulate 
their virtues ; and demand of you every public honour, as 
due, not to their personal merit, but to their high rank. 
Arrogant pretenders, and utterly unreasonable ! Eor though 
their ancestors left them all that was at their disposal, their 
riches, their statues, and their glorious names, they left them 
not, nor could leave them, their virtue ; which alone, of all 
their possessions, could neither be communicated nor re- 
ceived. 

" They reproach me as being mean, and of unpolished 
manners, because, forsooth, I have but little skill in arrang- 
ing an entertainment, and keep no actor 1 , nor give my cook 2 

1 Keep no actor] Histrionem nullum — habeo. " Luxurise peregrine origo ab 
exercitu Asiatico (Manlii sc. Vulsonis, A.u.c. 568) invecta in urbem est. * * * 
Turn psaltria? sambucistriasque, et convivalia ludionum oblectamenta, addita 
epulis." Liv. xxxix., 6. "By this army returning from Asia was the origin of 
foreign luxury imported into the city. * * * At entertainments — were introduced 
players on the harp and timbrel, with buffoons for the diversion of the guests." 
Baker. Professor Anthon, who quotes this passage, says that histrio "here 
denotes a buffoon kept for the amusement of the company." But such is not the 
meaning of the word histrio. It signifies one who in some way acted, either by 
dancing and gesticulation, or by reciting, perhaps to the music of the sambucis- 
trice or other minstrels. See Smith's Diet, of Gr. and Rom. Ant. Art. Histrio, 
sect. 2. Scheller's Lex. sub vv. Histrio, Ludio, and Sdlto. The emperors had 
whole companies of actors, histriones aulici, for their private amusement. Sueto- 
nius says of Augustus (c. 74) that at feasts he introduced acroamata et histriones. 
See also Spartian. Had. c. 19; Jul. Capitol. Verus, c. 8. 

2 My cook] Coquum. Livy, in the passage just cited from him, adds turn 
coquus vilissimum antiquis mancipium, et aistimatione et usu in pretio esse ; et 
quod ministerium fuerat, ars haberi empta. " The cook, whom the ancients con- 



THE JUGUETHI^E WAK. 179 

higher wages than my steward ; all which charges I must, 
indeed, acknowledge to be just ; for I learned from my father, 
and other venerable characters, that vain indulgences belong 
to women, and labour to men ; that glory, rather than 
wealth, should be the object of the virtuous ; and that arms 
and armour, not household furniture, are marks of honour. 
But let the nobility, if they please, pursue what is delightful 
and dear to them ; let them devote themselves to licentious- 
ness and luxury ; let them pass their age as they have passed 
their youth, in revelry and feasting, the slaves of gluttony 
and debauchery ; but let them leave the toil and dust, of the 
field, and other such matters, to us, to whom they are more 
grateful than banquets. This, however, they will not do ; 
for when these most infamous of men have disgraced them- 
selves by every species of turpitude, they proceed to claim 
the distinctions due to the most honourable. Thus it most 
unjustly happens that luxury and indolence, the most dis- 
graceful of vices, are harmless to those who indulge in them, 
and fatal only to the innocent commonwealth. 

"As I have now replied to my calumniators, as far as my 
own character required, though not so fully as their flagiti- 
ousness deserved, I shall add a few words on the state of 
public affairs. In the first place, my fellow-citizens, be 
of good courage with regard to Numidia ; for all that 
hitherto protected Jugurtha, avarice, inexperience, and arro- 
gance 1 , you have entirely removed. There is an army in 
it, too, which is well acquainted with the country, though, 
assuredly, more brave than fortunate ; for a great part of it 
has been destroyed by the avarice or rashness of its com- 
manders. Such of you, then, as are of military age, co-operate 
with me, and support the cause of your country ; and let no 
discouragement, from the ill-fortune of others, or the arro- 
gance of the late commanders, affect any one of you. I 
myself shall be with you, both on the march and in the 

sidered as the meanest of their slaves both in estimation and use, became highly 
valuable." Baker. 

1 Avarice, inexperience, and arrogance] Avaritiam, imperitiam, superbiam. 
" The President De Brosses and Dotteville have observed, that Marius, in these 
words, makes an allusion to the characters of all the generals that had preceded 
him, noticing at once the avarice of Calpumius, the inexperience of Albinus, and 
the pride of Metellus." Le Brun. 

^2 



180 SALLUST. 

battle, both to direct your movements and to share your 
dangers. I shall treat you and myself on every occasion 
alike ; and, doubtless, with the aid of the gods, all good 
things, victory, spoil, and glory, are ready to our hands ; 
though, even if they were doubtful or distant, it would still 
become every able citizen to act in defence of his country. 
Eor no man, by slothful timidity, has escaped the lot of mor- 
tals 1 ; nor has any parent wished for his children 2 that they 
might live for ever, but rather that they might act in life with 
virtue and honour. I would add more, my fellow- citizens, if 
words could give courage to the faint-hearted ; to the brave 
I think that I have said enough." 

1 For no man, by slothful timidity, has escaped the lot of mortals] Etenim 
ignavid nemo immortalis factus. The English translators have rendered this 
phrase as if they supposed the sense to be, " No man has gained immortal renown 
by inaction." But this is not the signification. What Marius means, is, that no 
man, however cautiously and timidly he may avoid danger, has prolonged his life 
to immortality. Taken in this sense, the words have their proper connexion with 
what immediately follows : neque quisquam parens liberis, uti aiterni forent, 
optavit. The sentiment is the same as in the verse of Horace : Mors et fugacem 
persequitur virum: or in these lines of Tyrtams: 

'Ou yap kcos Odvarov ye (pvyeiv ei\iap\ievov iorw 

*Avdp\ 6v& fjv 7rpoyoi/cov r\ yevos dOavdrcop' 
UoWaKi brfioTTjTa (pvycov kol dovnov aKovrcov 
"Epxerai, iv 6' olkco fioipa Ki^ev Savdrov. 
To none, 'mong men, escape from death is giv'n, 
Though sprung from deathless habitants of heav'n : 
Him that has fled the battle's threatening sound, 
The silent foot of fate at home has found. 
The French translator, Le Brun, has given the right sense : " Jamais la lachete 
n'a preserve de la mort;" and Dureau Delamalle: u Pour etre un lache, on n'en 
serait pas plus immortel." Ignavia is properly inaction ; but here signifies a 
timid shrinking from danger. 

2 Nor has any parent wished for his children, cfc] 'Ov yap ddavdrovs 
(T(j)Lcn 7ral§as ivxovrai ycveoSai, dXV dyadovs kol ivickeeis. " Men do 
not pray that they may have children that will never die, but such as will be 
good and honourable." Plato, Menex. 20. 

" This speech, differing from the other speeches in Sallust both in words and 
thoughts, conveys a clear notion of that fierce and objurgatory eloquence which 
was natural to the rude manners and bold character of Marius. It is a speech 
which cannot be called polished and modulated, but must rather be termed rough 
and ungraceful. The phraseology is of an antique cast, and some of the words 
coarse. * * * But it is animated and fervid, rushing on like a torrent ; and by 
language of such a character and structure, the nature and manners of Marius 
are excellently represented." Gerlach. 



THE JTJaTJETHINE WAS. 181 

LXXXVI. After having spoken to this effect, Marius, when 
he found that the minds of the populace were excited, imme- 
diately freighted vessels with provisions, pay, arms, and other 
necessaries, and ordered Aulus Manlius, his lieutenant- 
general, to set sail with them. He himself, in the mean 
time, proceeded to enlist soldiers, not after the ancient 
method, or from the classes 1 , but taking all that were willing 
to join him, and the greater part from the lowest ranks. 
Some said that this was done from a scarcity of better men, 
and others from the consul's desire to pay court 2 to the poorer 
class, because it was by that order of men that he had been 
honoured and promoted : and, indeed, to a man grasping at 
power, the most needy are the most serviceable, persons to 
whom their property (as they have none) is not an object of 
care, and to whom everything lucrative appears honourable. 
Setting out, accordingly, for Africa, with a somewhat larger 
force than had been decreed, he arrived in a few days at 
Utica. The command of the army was resigned to him by 
Publius Kutilius, Metellus' s lieutenant-general ; for Metellus 
himself avoided the sight of Marius, that he might not see 
what he could not even endure to hear mentioned. 

LXXXYII. Marius, having filled up his legions 3 and aux- 
iliary cohorts, marched into a part of the country which was 
fertile and abundant in spoil, where, whatever he captured, 
he gave up to his soldiers. • He then attacked such fortresses 
or towns as were ill defended by nature or with troops, and 
ventured on several engagements, though only of a light cha- 
racter, in different places. The new recruits, in process of 
time, began to join in an encounter without fear ; they saw 
that such as fled were taken prisoners or slain ; that the 

1 LXXXyi. Not after the ancient method, or from the classes] Non more 
majorum, neque ex classibus. By the regulation of Servius Tullius, who divided 
the Roman people into six classes, the highest class consisting of the wealthiest, 
and the others decreasing downwards in regular gradation, none of the sixth class, 
who were not considered as having any fortune, but were capite censi, " rated by 

- the head," were allowed to enlist in the army. The enlistment of the lower order, 
commenced, it is said, by Marias, tended to debase the army, and to render it a 
fitter tool for the purposes of unprincipled commanders. See Aul. Gell. xvi., 10. 

2 Desire to pay court] Per ambitionem. 

3 LXXXyil. Having filled up his legions, <J-c.] Their numbers had been 
thinned in actions with the enemy, and Metellus perhaps took home some part of 
the army which did not return to it. 



182 SALLTTST. 

bravest were the safest; that liberty, their country, and 
parents 1 , are defended, and glory and riches acquired, by 
arms. Thus the new and old troops soon became as one 
body, and the courage of all was rendered equal. 

The two kings, when they heard of the approach of Marius, 
retreated, by separate routes, into parts that were difficult of 
access ; a plan which had been proposed by Jugurtha, who 
hoped that, in a short time, the enemy might be attacked 
when dispersed over the country, supposing that the Roman 
soldiers, like the generality of troops, would be less careful 
and observant of discipline when the fear of danger was 
removed. 
p^ LXXXVIII. Metellus, meanwhile, having taken his de- 
/ parture for Rome, was received there, contrary to his expec- 
tation, with the greatest feelings of joy, being equally wel- 
comed, since public prejudice had subsided, by both the 
people and the patricians. 

Marius continued to attend, with equal activity and pru- 
dence, to his own affairs and those of the enemy. He 
observed what would be advantageous, or the contrary, to 
either party ; he watched the movements of the kings, coun- 
teracted their intentions and stratagems, and allowed no re- 
missness in his own army, and no security in that of the 
enemy. He accordingly attacked and dispersed, on several 
occasions, the Gretulians and Jugwrtha on their march, as 
they were carrying off spoil from our allies 3 ; and he obliged 
the king himself, near the town of Cirta, to take flight with- 
out his arms 3 . But finding that such enterprises merely 
gained him honour, without tending to terminate the war, 
he resolved on investing, one after another, all the cities, 
which, by the strength of their garrisons or situation, were 
best suited either to support the enemy, or to resist himself; 
so that Jugurtha would either be deprived of his fortresses, 
if he suffered them to be taken, or be forced to come to an 

1 Their country and parents, cj-c] Patriam parentesque, §c. Sallust means to 
say that the soldiers would see such to be the general effect and result of vigorous 
warfare ; not that they had any country or parents to protect in Numidia. But 
the observation has very much of the rhetorician in it. 

2 LXXXVIII. From our allies] Ex sociis nostris. The people of the province. 

3 Obliged the king himself — to take flight without his arms] Ipsumque regem 
— armis exuerat. He attacked Jugurtha so suddenly and vigorously that he was 
compelled to flee, leaving his arms behind him. 



THE JUGUETHLSTE WAR. 183 

engagement in their defence. As to Bocchus, lie had fre- 
quently sent messengers to Marius, saying that he desired 
the friendship of the Eoman people, and that the consul 
need fear no act of hostility from him. But whether he 
merely dissembled, with a view to attack us unexpectedly 
with greater effect, or whether, from fickleness of disposition, 
he habitually wavered between war and peace, was never 
fairly ascertained. 

LXXXIX. Marius, as he had determined, proceeded to 
attack the fortified towns and places of strength, and to 
detach them, partly by force, and partly by threats or offers 
of reward, from the enemy. His operations in this way, 
however, were at first but moderate ; for he expected that 
Jugurtha, to protect his subjects, would soon come to an 
engagement. But finding that he kept at a distance, and 
was intent on other affairs, he thought it was time to enter 
upon something of greater importance and difliculty. Amidst 
the vast deserts there lay a great and strong city, named Capsa, 
the founder of which is said to have been the Libyan Hercules 1 . 
Its inhabitants were exempted from taxes by Jugurtha, and 
under mild government, and were consequently regarded as 
the most faithful of his subjects. They were defended 
against enemies, not only by walls, magazines of arms, and 
bodies of troops, but still more by the difficulty of ap- 
proaching them ; for, except the parts adjoining the walls, all 
the surrounding country is waste and uncultivated, destitute 
of water, and infested with serpents, whose fierceness, like 
that of other wild animals, is aggravated by want of food ; 
while the venom of such reptiles, deadly in itself, is exacer- 
bated by nothing so much as by thirst. Of this place 
Marius conceived a strong desire 2 to make himself master, 
not only from its importance for the war, but because its 
capture seemed an enterprise of difliculty ; for Metellus had 
gained great glory by taking Thala, a town similarly situated 
and fortified ; except that at Thala there were several springs 

1 LXXXIX. The Libyan Hercules] Hercules Lilys. ." He is one of the forty 
and more whom Varro mentions, and who, it is probable, were leaders of trading 
expeditions or colonies. See supra, c. 18. A Libyan Hercules is mentioned by 
Solinus, xxvii." Burnouf. 

' 2 Marius conceived a strong desire] Marium maxima cupido invaserat. " A 
strong desire had seized Marius." 



184 SALLUST. 

near the walls, while the people of Capsa had only one run- 
ning stream, and that within the town, all the water which 
they used besides being rain-water. But this scarcity, both 
here and in other parts of Africa, where the people live 
rudely and remote from the sea, was endured with the greater 
ease, as the inhabitants subsist mostly on 'milk and wild 
beasts' flesh 1 , and use no salt, or other provocatives of 
appetite, their food being merely to satisfy hunger or thirst, 
and not to encourage luxury or excess. 

XC. The consul 3 , having made all necessary investiga- 
tions, and relying, I suppose, on the gods (for against such 
difficulties he could not well provide by his own forethought, 
as he was also straitened for want of corn, because the Nu- 
midians apply more to pasturage than agriculture, and had 
conveyed, by the king's order, whatever corn had been raised 
into fortified places, while the ground at the time, it being 
the end of summer, was parched and destitute of vegetation), 
yet, under the circumstances, conducted his arrangements 
with great prudence. All the cattle, which had been taken 
for some days previous, he consigned to the care 3 of the 
auxiliary cavalry; and directed Aulus Manlius, his lieu- 
tenant-general, to proceed with the light-armed cohorts to 
the town of Lares 4 , where he had deposited provisions and pay 
for the army, telling him that, after plundering the country, 
he would join him there in a few days. Having by this 
means concealed his real design, he proceeded towards the 
river Tana. 

XCI. On his march he distributed daily, to each division 
of the infantry and cavalry, an equal portion of the cattle, 
and gave orders that water-bottles should be made of their 
hides ; thus compensating, at once, for the scarcity of corn, 

1 Wild beasts' flesh] Ferind came. Almost all our translators have rendered 
this "venison." But the Africans lived on the flesh of whatever beasts they 
took in the chase. 

2 XC. The consul, cj-c] Here is a long and awkward parenthesis. I have 
adhered to the construction of the original. The " yet," tamen, that follows the 
parenthesis, refers to the matter included in it. 

3 He consigned to the care, <§c.~\ Equitibus auxiUariis agendum attribute. " He 
gave to be driven by the auxiliary cavalry." 

4 The town of Lares] Oppidum Laris. Cortius seems to have been right in 
pronouncing Laris to be an accusative plural. Gerlach observes that Lares 
occurs in the Itinerary of Antoninus and in St. Augustine, Adv. Donatist. vi., 28. 



THE JUGTJBTHrffE WAB. 185 

and providing, while all remained ignorant of his intention, 
utensils which would soon be of service. At the end of six 
days, accordingly, when he arrived at the river, a large 
number of bottles had been prepared. Having pitched his 
camp, with a slight fortification, he ordered his men to take 
refreshment, and to be ready to resume their march at sun- 
set ; and, having laid aside arhtheir baggage, to load them- 
selves and their beasts only with water. As soon as it 
seemed time, he quitted the camp, and, after marching the 
whole night 1 , encamped again. The same course he pursued 
I on the following night, and on the third, long before dawn, 
: he reached a hilly spot of ground, not more than two miles 
distant from Capsa, where he waited, as secretly as possible, 
with his whole force. But when daylight appeared, and 
many of the Numidians, having no apprehensions of an 
enemy, went forth out of the town, he suddenly ordered all 
the cavalry, and with them the lightest of the infantry, to 
hasten forward to Capsa, and secure the gates. He himself 
immediately followed, with the utmost ardour, restraining 
his men from plunder. 

When the inhabitants perceived that the place was sur- 
prised, their state of consternation and extreme dread, the 
suddenness of the calamity, and the consideration that many 
of their fellow-citizens were without the walls in the power 
of the enemy, compelled them to surrender. The town, 
however, was burnt; of the Numidians, such as were of 
adult age, were put to the sword ; the rest were sold, and the^ 
spoil divided among the soldiers. This severity, in violation 
of the usages of war, was not adopted from avarice or cruelty 
in the consul, but was exercised because the place was of 
great advantage to Jugurtha, and difficult of access to us, 
while the inhabitants were a fickle and faithless race, to be 
influenced neither by kindness nor by terror. 
s~ XCII. "When Marius had achieved so important an enter- 
/ prise, without any loss to his troops, he who was great and 
honoured before became still greater and still more honoured. 
Ail his undertakings 2 , however ill-concerted, were regarded 

1 XCI. After marching the whole night] He seems to have marched in the 
night for the sake of coolness. 

2 XCII. All his undertakings, $c.~] Omnia non bene consulta in virlutem 
trahebantur. " All that he did rashly was attributed to his consciousness of 



186 SALLTJST. 

as proofs of superior ability; his soldiers, kept under mild 
discipline, and enriched with spoil, extolled him to the skies ; 
the Numidians dreaded him as something more than human ; 
and all, indeed, allies as well as enemies, believed that he was 
either possessed of supernatural power, or had all things 
directed for him by the will of the gods. 

After his success in this attempt, he proceeded against 
other towns ; a few, where they offered resistance, he took by 
force ; a greater number, deserted in consequence of the 
wretched fate of Capsa, he destroyed by fire ; and the whole 
country was filled with mourning and slaughter. 

Having at length gained possession of many places, and 
most of them without loss to his army, he turned his thoughts 
to another enterprise, which, though not of the same des- 
perate character as that at Capsa, was yet not less difficult 
of execution 1 . Not far from the river Mulucha, which divided 
the kingdoms of Jugurtha and Eocchus, there stood, in the 
midst of a plain 3 , a rocky hill, sufficiently broad at the top for 
a small fort ; it rose to a vast height, and had but one narrow 
ascent left open, the whole of it being as steep by nature as 
it could have been rendered by labour and art. This place, 
as there were treasures of the king in it, Marius directed 
his utmost efforts to take 3 . But his views were farthered 
more by fortune than by his own contrivance. In the for- 
tress there were plenty of men and arms for its defence, as 
well as an abundant store of provisions, and a spring of 
water; while its situation was unfavourable for raising 
mounds, towers, and other works ; and the road to it, used by 
its inhabitants, was extremely steep, with a precipice on 
either side. The vineae were brought up with great danger, 
and without effect ; for, before they were advanced any consi- 

extraordinary power." If they could not praise his prudence, they praised his 
resolution and energy. 

1 Difficult of execution] Difficilem. There seemed to be as many impediments 
to success as in the affair at Capsa, though the undertaking was not of so perilous 
a nature. 

2 In the midst of a plain] Inter cceteram planitiem. By caiteram he signifies 
that the rest of the ground, except the part on which the fort stood, was plain 
and level. 

3 Directed his utmost efforts to take] Summa vi capere intendit. It is to be 
observed that summa vi refers to intendit, not to capere. Summa ope animum 
intendit ut caper et. 



THE JTJGTTKTHIIS'E WAR. 187 

derable distance, they were destroyed with fire or stones. 
And from the difficulties of the ground, the soldiers could 
neither stand in front of the works, nor act among the vinese 1 , 
without danger ; the boldest of them were killed or wounded, 
and the fear of the rest increased. 

XCIII. Marius having thus wasted much time and labour, 
began seriously to consider whether he should abandon the 
attempt as impracticable, or wait for the aid of Eortune, 
whom he had so often found favourable. Whilst he was re- 
volving the matter in his mind, during several days and 
nights, in a state of much doubt and perplexity, it happened 
that a certain Ligurian, a private soldier in the auxiliary co- 
horts 2 , having gone out of the camp to fetch water, observed, 
near that part of the fort which was farthest from the be- 
siegers, some snails crawling among the rocks, of which, when 
he had picked up one or two, and afterwards more, he gra- 
dually proceeded, in his eagerness for collecting them, almost 
to the top of the hill. "When he found this part deserted, a 
desire, incident to the human mind, of seeing what he had 
never seen 3 , took violent possession of him. A large oak 

1 Among the vineaj] Inter vineas. " Inter, for which Miiller, from a conjecture 
of Glareanus, substituted intra, is supported by all the manuscripts, and ought 
not to be altered, although intra would have been more exact, as the signification 
of inter is of greater extent, and includes that of intra. Inter is used when a 
thing is inclosed on each side ; intra, when it is inclosed on all sides. If the 
soldiers, therefore, are considered as surrounded with the vinece, they should be 
described as intra vineas ; but as there is no reason why they may not also be 
contemplated as being inclosed only laterally by the vimai, the phrase inter 
vineas may surely in that case be applied to them. Gronovius and Dra- 
kenborch ad Liv. i., 10, have observed how often these propositions are inter- 
changed when referred to time. 11 Kritzius. On vinece, see c. 76. 

2 XCIII. A certain Ligurian — in the auxiliary cohorts] The Ligurians were 
not numbered among the Italians or socii in the Roman army, but attached to it 
only as auxiliaries. 

3 A desire — of seeing what he had never seen] More humani ingenii, cupido 
ignara visundi invadit. This is the reading of Cortius, to which Miiller and 
Allen adhere. Gerlach inserted in his text, More humani ingeni, cupido difficilia 

faciundi animum vortit; which Kritzius, Orelli, and Dietsch, have adopted, and 
which Cortius acknowledged to be the reading of the generality of the manuscripts, 
except that they vary as to the last two words, some having animadvortit. The 
sense of this reading will be, M the desire of doing something difficult, which is 
natural to the human mind, drew off his thoughts from gathering snails, and led 
him to contemplate something of a more arduous character." But the reading 



188 SALLUST. 

chanced to grow out among the rocks, at first, for a short 
distance, horizontally 1 , and then, as nature directs all vege- 
tables 3 , turning and shooting upwards. Eaising himself some- 
times on the boughs of this tree, and sometimes on the pro- 
jecting rocks, the Ligurian, as all the jSTumidians were in- 

: tently watching the besiegers, took a full survey of the plat- 
form of the fortress. Having observed whatever he thought 
it would afterwards prove useful to know, lie descended the 
same way, not unobservantly, as he had gone up, but explor- 

I ing and noticing all the peculiarities of the path. He then 
hastened to Marius, acquainted him with what he had done, 
and urged him to attack the fort on that side where he had 
ascended, offering himself to lead the way and the attempt. 
Marius sent some of those about him, along with the Ligu- 
rian, to examine the practicability of his proposal, who, ac- 
cording to their several dispositions, reported the affair as 
difficult or easy. The consul's hopes, however, were some- 
what encouraged ; and he accordingly selected, from his band 
of trumpeters and bugle-men, five of the most nimble, and 
with them four centurions for a guard 3 ; all of whom he di- 

of Cortius gives so much better a sense to the passage, that I have thought 
proper to follow it. Burnouf, with Havercamp and the editions antecedent to 
Cortius, reads more humance cupidinis ignara visundi ardmum vortit, of which 
the first five words are taken from a quotation of Aulus Gellius, ix., 12, who, 
however, may have transcribed them from some other part of Sallust's works, 
now lost. 

1 Horizontally] Prona. This word here signifies forwards, not downwards, as 
Anthon and others interpret, for trees growing out of a rock or bank will not 
take a descending direction. 

2 As nature directs all vegetables] Quo cuncta gignentium naturafert. It is to 
be observed that the construction is naturafert cuncta gignentium, for cuncta gig- 
nentia. On gignentia, i. e. vegetables, or whatever produces anything, see c. 79, 
and Cat., c. 53. 

3 Four centurions for a guard] Prcesidio quiforent, quatuor centuriones. It is 
a question among the commentators whether the centurions were attended by 
their centuries or not; Cortius thinks thst they were not, as ten men were suffi- 
cient to cause an alarm in the fortress, which was all that Marius desired. But 
that Cortius is in the wrong, and that there were common soldiers with the cen- 
turions, appears from the following considerations: 1. Marius would hardly have 
sent, or Sallust have spoken of, four men as a guard to sir. 2. Why should cen- 
turions only have been selected, and not common soldiers as well as their officers? 
3. An expression in the following chapter, laqueis — quibfis allerati milites facilius 
escenderent, seems to prove that there were others present besides the centurions 
and the trumpeters. The word milites is indeed wanting in the text of Cortius, 



THE JTJGTJRTHI^E WAB. 189 

rected to obey the Ligurian, appointing the next day for com- 
mencing the experiment. 

XCIV. "When, according to their instructions, it seemed 
time to set out, the Ligurian, after preparing and arranging 
everything, proceeded to the place of ascent. Those who 
commanded the centuries 1 , being previously instructed by the 
guide, had changed their arms and dress, having their heads 
and feet bare, that their view upwards, and their progress 
among the rocks, might be less impeded 2 ; their swords were 
slung behind them, as well as their shields, which were jNTu- 
midian, and made of leather, both for the sake of lightness, 
and in order that, if struck against any object, they might 
make less noise. The Ligurian went first, and tied to the 
rocks, and whatever roots of trees projected through age, a 
number of ropes, by which the soldiers supporting themselves 
might climb with the greatest ease. Such as were timorous, 
from the extraordinary nature of the path, he sometimes 
pulled up by the hand ; when the ascent was extremely 
rugged, he sent them on singly before him without their arms, 
which he then carried up after them ; whatever parts appeared 
unsafe 3 , he first tried them himself, and, by going up and down 
repeatedly in the same place, and then standing aside, he in- 

but appears to have been omitted by him merely to favour his own notion as to 
the absence of soldiers, for he left it out, as Kritzius says, summd libidine, ne uno 
quidem codice assentierde, " purely of his own will, and without the authority of 
a single manuscript." Taking a fair view of the passage, we seem necessarily led 
to believe that the centurions were attended by a portion, if not the whole, of their 
companies. See the following note. 

1 XCIY. Those who commanded the centuries] Till qui centuriis p^ceerant. 
This is the reading of several manuscripts, and of almost all the editions before 
that of Kritzius, and may be tolerated if we suppose that the centurions were at- 
tended by their men, and that Sallust, in speaking of the change of dress, meant 
to include the men, although he specifies only the officers. Yet it is difficult to 
conceive why Sallust should have used such a periphrase for centuriones. Seven 
of the manuscripts, however, have qui adscensuri erant, which Kritzius and 
Dietsch have adopted. Two have qui ex centuriis pr&erant. Allen, not unhap- 
pily, conjectures, quiprcesidio erant. Cortius suspected the phrase, qui centuriis 
prceerant, and thought it a transformation of the words qui adscensuris prceerat, 
which somebody had written in the margin as an explanation of the following 
word duce, and which were afterwards altered and thrust into the text. 

2 Progress — might be less impeded] Nisus—facilius foret. The adverb for the 
adjective. So in the speech of Adherbal, c. 14, ut fortius essem. 

3 Unsafe] JDubia nisu. " Not to be depended upon for support." Nisu is the 
old dative for nisuL 



190 SALLUST. 

spired the rest with courage to proceed. At length, after 
i uninterrupted and harassing exertion, they reached thefor- 
tress, which, on that side, was undefended, for all the occu- 
pants, as on other days, were intent on the enemy in the op- 
posite quarter. 

Though Marius had kept the attention of the Wumidians, 
during the whole day, fixed on his attacks, yet, when he heard 
from his scouts how the Ligurian had succeeded, he animated 
his soldiers to fresh exertions, and he himself, advancing be- 
yond the vineso, and causing a testudo to be formed 1 , came up 
close under the walls, annoying the enemy, at the same time, 
with his engines, archers, and slingers, from a distance. 

But the JSTumidians, having often before overturned and 
burnt the vineaa of the Eomans, no longer confined themselves 
within the fortress, but spent day and night before the walls, 
railing at the Eomans, upbraiding Marius with madness, 
threatening our soldiers with being made slaves to Jugurtha, 
and exhibiting the utmost audacity on account of their suc- 
cessful defence. In the mean time, while both the Eomans 
and Numidians were engaged in the struggle, the one side 
1 contending for glory and dominion, the other for their very 
existence, the trumpets suddenly sounded a blast in the rear 
\ of the enemy, at which the women and children, who had 
gone out to view the contest, were the first to flee ; next those 
who were nearest to the wall, and at length the whole of the 
Numidians, armed and unarmed, retreated within the fort. 
"When this had happened, the Eomans pressed upon the enemy 
with increased boldness, dispersing them, and at first only 
wounding the greater part, but afterwards making their way 
over the bodies of those who fell, thirsting for glory, and 
striving who should be first to reach" the wall ; not a single 
individual being detained by the plunder. Thus the rashness 
of Marius, rendered successful by fortune, procured him re- 
nown from his very error. 

XCV. During the progress of this affair, Lucius Sylla, 
Marius' s quaestor, arrived in the camp with a numerous body 
of cavalry, which he had been left at Eome to raise among the 
Latins and allies. 

1 Causing a testudo to be formed] Testudine acta. The soldiers placed their 
shields over their heads, and joined them close together, forming a defence like the 
shell of a tortoise. 



THE JUGT7ETHIKE W1E, 191 

j Of so eminent a man, since mv subject brings him to my 
notice, I think it proper to give a brief account of the charac- 
ter and manners ; for I shall in no other place allude to his 
affairs 1 ; and Lucius Sisenna 2 , who has treated that subject 
the most ably and accurately of all writers, seems to me to 
have spoken with too little freedom. Sylla, then, was of pa- 
trician descent, but of a family almost sunk in obscurity by 
the degeneracy of his forefathers. He was skilled, equally 
and profoundly, in Greek and Roman literature. He was a 
man of large mind, fond of pleasure, but fonder of glory. His 
leisure was spent in luxurious gratifications, but pleasure 
never kept him from his duties, except that he might have 
acted more for his honour with regard to his wife 3 . He was 

1 XCV. For I shall in no other place allude to his affairs] Neque enim alio loco 
de Suttee rebus dicturi sumus. " These words show that Sallust, at this time, had 
not thought of writing Histories, but that he turned his attention to that pursuit 
after he had finished the Jugur thine war. For that he spoke of Sylla in his 
large history is apparent from several extant fragments of it, and from Plutarch, 
who quotes Sallust, Vit. Syll., c. 3." Kritzius. s 

2 Lucius Sisenna] He wrote a history of the civil wars between Sylla and 
Marios, Veil. Paterc. ii., 9. Cicero alludes to his style as being jejune and 
puerile, Brut., c. 64, De Legg. i., 2. About a hundred and fifty fragments of his 
history remain. 

3 Except that he might have acted more for his honour with regard to his wife] 
Nisi quod de uxore potuit konestius consuli. As these words are vague and inde- 
terminate, it is not agreed among the critics and translators to what part of 
Sylla's life Sallust refers. I suppose, with Kupertus, Aldus Manutius, Crispinus, 
and De Brosses, that the allusion is to his connexion with Valeria, of which the 
history is given by Plutarch in his Life of Sylla, which the English reader may take 
in Langhome's translation : "A few months after Metella's death, he presented 
the people with a show of gladiators ; and as, at that time, men and women had 
no separate places, but sat promiscuously in the theatre, a woman of great beauty, 
and of one of the best families,, happened to sit near Sylla. She was the daughter 
of Messala, and sister to the orator Hortensius ; her name was Valeria ; and she 
had lately been divorced from her husband. This woman, coming behind Sylla, 
touched him, and took off a little of the nap of his robe, and then returned to her 
place. Sylla looked at her, quite amazed at her familiarity, when she said, 
' Wonder not, my lord, at what I have done ; I had only a mind to share a little 
in vour good fortune.' Sylla was far from being displeased ; on the contrary, it 
appeared that he was flattered very agreeably, for he sent to ask her name, and 
to inquire into her family and character. Then followed an interchange of 
amorous regards and smiles, which ended in a contract and marriage. The lady, 
perhaps, was not to blame. But Sylla, though he got a woman of reputation, and 
great accomplishments, yet came into the match upon wrong principles. Like a 
youth, he was caught with soft looks and languishing airs, things that are wont 



192 SALLUST. 

eloquent and subtle, and lived on the easiest terms with his 
friends 1 . His depth of thought in disguising his intentions, 
was incredible ; he was liberal of most things, but especially 
of money. And though he was the most fortunate 2 of all 
men before his victory in the civil war, yet his fortune was 
never beyond his desert 3 ; and many have expressed a doubt 
whether his success or his merit were the greater. As to 
his subsequent acts, I know not whether more of shame or of 
regret must be felt at the recital of them. 

XCVI. "When Sylla came with his cavalry into Africa, as 
has just been stated, and arrived at the camp of Marius, 
though he had hitherto been unskilled and undisciplined in 
the art of war, he became, in a short time, the most expert of 
the whole army. He was besides affable to the soldiers ; he 
conferred favours on many at their request, and on others of 
his own accord, and was reluctant to receive any in return. 
But he repaid other obligations more readily than those of a 
pecuniary nature; he himself demanded repayment from no 
one ; but rather made it his object that as many as possible 
should be indebted to him. He conversed, jocosely as well as 
seriously, with the humblest of the soldiers ; he was their 
frequent companion at their works, on the march, and on 

to excite the lowest of the passions." Others have thought that Sallust refers to 
Sylla's conduct on the death of his wife Metella, above mentioned, to whom, as she 
happened to fall sick when he was giving an entertainment to the people, and as 
the priest forbade him to have his house defiled with death on the occasion, he 
unfeelingly sent a bill of divorce, ordering her to be carried out of the house while 
the breath was in her. Cortius, Kritz, and Langius, think that the allusion is to 
Sylla's general faithlessness to his wives, for he had several ; as if Sallust had 
used the singular for the plural, uxore for uxoribus, or re uxorid; but if Sallust 
meant to allude to more than one wife, why should he have restricted himself to 
the singular? 

1 Lived on the easiest terms with his friends] Facills amicitid. The critics are 
in doubt about the sense of this phrase. I have given that which Dietsch prefers, 
who says that a maxifacilis amicitid is " one who easily grants his friends all that 
they desire, exacts little from them, and is no severe censor of their morals." 
Cortius explains it facilis ad amicitiam, and Facciolati, in his Lexicon, facile sibi 
amicos parans, but these interpretations, as Kritzius observes, are hardly suitable 
to the ablative case. 

2 Most fortunate] Felicissumo, Alluding, perhaps, to the title of Felix, which 
he assumed after his great victory over Marius. 

3 His desert] Industriam. That is, the efforts which he made to attain dis- 
tinction. 



THE JUGURTHIKE WAK. 193 

guard. Nor did he ever, as is usual with depraved ambition, 
attempt to injure the character of the consul, or of any de- 
serving person. His sole aim, whether in the council or the 
field, was to suffer none to excel him ; to most he was supe- 
rior. By such conduct he soon became a favourite both with 
Marius and with the army. 

XCYII. Jugurtha, after he had lost the city of Capsa, and 
other strong and important places, as well as a vast sum of 
money, despatched messengers to Eocchus, requesting him to 
bring his forces into Numidia as soon as possible, and stating 
that the time for giving battle was at hand. But finding 
that he hesitated, and was balancing the inducements to peace 
and war, he again corrupted his confidants, as on a previous oc- 
casion, with presents, and promised the Moor himself a third 
part of INumidia, should either the Romans be driven from 
Africa, or the war brought to an end without any diminu- 
tion of his own territories. Being allured by this offer, Boc- 
chus joined Jugurtha with a large force. 

The armies of the kings being thus united, they attacked 
Marius, on his march to his winter quarters, when scarcely 
a tenth part of the day remained 1 , expecting that the night, 
which was now coming on, would be a shelter to them if they 
were beaten, and no impediment if they should conquer, as 
they were well acquainted with the country, while either re- 
sult would be worse for the Bomans in the dark. At the 
very moment, accordingly, that Marius heard from various 
quarters 2 of the enemy's approach, the enemy themselves 
were upon him, and before the troops could either form them- 
selves or collect the baggage, before they could receive even 
a signal or an order, the Moorish and Getulian horse, not in 
line, or any regular array of battle, but in separate bodies, 
as chance had united them, rushed furiously on our men ; 
who, though all struck with a panic, yet, calling to mind what 
they had done on former occasions, either seized their arms, 
or protected those who were looking for theirs, while some, 
springing on their horses, advanced against the enemy. But 
the whole conflict was more like a rencounter with robbers 

1 XCVII. When scarcely a tenth part of the day remained] Vix decimd parte 
die reliqua. A remarkably exact specification of the time. 

' 2 From various quarters] Ex multis. From his scouts, who came in from all 
sides. 

O 



194 SALLTTST. 



than a battle ; the horse and foot of the enemy, mingled 
together without standards or order, wounded some of our 
men, and cut down others, and surprised many in the rear 
while fighting stoutly with those in front ; neither valour 
nor arms were a sufficient defence, the enemy being superior 
in numbers, and covering the field on all sides. At last the 
Eoman veterans, who were necessarily well experienced in 
war 1 , formed themselves, wherever the nature of the ground 
or chance allowed them to unite, in circular bodies, and thus 
secured on every side, and regularly drawn up, withstood the 
attacks of the enemy. 

f JXCVIII. Marius, in this desperate emergency, was not 

more alarmed or disheartened than on any previous occasion, 
but rode about with his troop of cavalry, which he had formed 
of his bravest soldiers rather than his nearest friends, in every 
quarter of the field, sometimes supporting his own men 
when giving way, sometimes charging the enemy where they 
were thickest, and doing service to his troops with his sword, 
since, in the general confusion, he was unable to command 
with his voice. 

The day had now closed, yet the barbarians abated nothing 
of their impetuosity, but, expecting that the night would be 
in their favour, pressed forward, as their kings had directed 
them, with increased violence. Marius, in consequence, re- 
solved upon a measure suited to his circumstances, and, that 
his men might have a place of retreat, took possession of 
two hills contiguous to each other, on one of which, too small 
for a camp, there was an abundant spring of water, while 
the other, being mostly elevated and steep, and requiring 

1 The Roman veterans, who were necessarily well experienced in war] The 
reading of Cortius is, Romani veteres, novique, et ob ea scientes belli; which he 
explains by supposing that the new recruits were joined with the veterans, and 
that both united were consequently well skilled in war, citing, in support of his 
supposition, a passage in c. 87 : Sic brevi spatio novi veteresque coaluere, et virtus 
omnium cequalis facta. And Ascensius had previously given a similar explanation, 
quod etiam veterani adessent. But many later critics have not been induced to 
believe that Cortius's reading will bear any such interpretation ; and accordingly 
Kritzius, Dietsch, and Orelh, have ejected novique; as indeed Ciacconius and 
Ursinus had long before recommended. Miiller, Burnouf, and Allen, retain it, 
adopting Cortius's interpretation. Gerlach also retains it, but not without hesita- 
tion. But it is very remarkable that it occurs in all the manuscripts but one, 
which has Romani veteres boni scientes erant ut quos locus, <Jc. 



. 



THE JUGTHTHIXE WAR. 195 

little fortification, was suited for his purpose as a place of 
encampment. He then ordered Sylla, with a body of cavalry, 
to take his station for the night on the eminence containing 
the spring, whilst he himself collected his scattered troops 
by degrees, the enemy being not less disordered 1 , and led 
them all at a quick march 2 up the other hill. Thus the 
kings, obliged by the strength of the Roman position, were 
deterred from continuing the combat ; yet they did not allow 
their men to withdraw to a distance, but, surrounding both 
hills with a large force, encamped without any regular order. 
Having then lighted numerous fires, the barbarians, after 
their custom, spent most of the night in merriment, exulta- 
tion, and tumultuous clamour, the kings, elated at having 
kept their ground, conducting themselves as conquerors. 
This scene, plainly visible to the Romans, under cover of the 
night and on the higher ground, afforded great encourage- 
ment to them. 

XCIX. Marina, accordingly, deriving much confidence 
from the imprudence of the enemy, ordered the strictest pos- 
sible silence to be kept, not allowing even the trumpets, as 
was usual, to be sounded when the watches were changed 3 ; 
and then, when day approached, and the enemy were fatigued 
and just sinking to sleep, he ordered the sentinels, with the 
trumpeters of the auxiliary cohorts 4 , cavalry, and legions, to 
sound all their instruments at once, and the soldiers, at the 

1 XCVIII. The enemy being not less disordered] Neque minus hostibus contur- 
batis. If the enemy had not been in as much disorder as himself, Marios would 
hardly have been able to effect his retreat. 

2 At a quick march] Pleno gradu. " By the militaris gracilis twenty miles 
were completed in five hours of a summer day ; by the planus gradus, which is 
quicker, twenty-four miles were traversed in the same time.*' Veget. i., 9. 

3 XCIX. When the watches were changed] Pervigilias: i.e. at the end of 
each watch, when the guards were relieved. ' ; The nights, by the aid of a clep- 
sydra, were divided into four watches, the termination of each being marked by 
the blast of a trumpet or horn. See Veget. hi., 8: A tiibicine omnes vigilice com- 
mittuntur ; et Jinitis horis a carnitine revocantur" Kritzius. He also refers to 
Liv. vii., 35; Lucan. viii., 24; Tacit. Hist, v., 22. 

4 Auxiliary cohorts] CoJwrtium. I have added the word auxiliary. That 
they were the cohorts of the auxiliaries or allies is apparent, as the word legionum 
follows. Kritzius indeed thinks otherwise, supposing that the cohorts had parti- 
cular trumpeters, distinct from those of the whole legion. But for this notion there 
seems to be no sufficient ground. Sallust speaks of the cohortes sociorum, c. 58, 
and cohortes Ligurum, c. 100. 

o2 



/ 



196 SALLUST. 

same time, to raise a shout, and sally forth from the camp 1 
upon the enemy. The Moors and Getulians, suddenly roused 
by the strange and terrible noise, could neither flee, nor take 
up arms, could neither act, nor provide for their security, so 
completely had fear, like a stupor 3 , from the uproar and 
shouting, the absence of support, the charge of our troops, 
and the tumult and alarm, seized upon them all. The whole 
of them were consequently routed and put to flight ; most of 
their arms, and military standards, were taken; and more 
were killed in this than in all the former battles, their 
escape being impeded by sleep and the sudden alarm. 

C. Marius now continued the route, which he had com- 
menced, towards his winter quarters, which, for the con- 
venience of getting provisions, he had determined to fix in 
the towns on the coast. He was not, however, rendered 
careless or presumptuous by his victory, but marched with 
his army in form of a square 3 , just as if he were in sight of 
the enemy. Sylla, with his cavalry, was on the right ; Aulus 
Manlius, with the slingers and archers, and Ligurian cohorts, 
had the command on the left ; the tribunes, with the light- 
armed infantry, the consul had placed in the front and rear. 
The deserters, whose lives were of little value, and who were 
well acquainted with the country, observed the route of the 
enemy. Marius himself, too, as if no other were placed 
in charge, attended to everything, went through the whole 
of the troops, and praised or blamed them according to 
their desert. He was always armed and on the alert, and 
obliged his men to imitate his example. He fortified his camp 
with the same caution with which he marched; stationing 
cohorts of the legions to watch the gates, and the auxiliary 
cavalry in front, and others upon the rampart and lines. He 
went round the posts in person, not from suspicion that his 

1 Sally forth from the camp] Portis erumpere. Sallust uses the common 
phrase for issuing from the camp. It can hardly be supposed that the Romans 
had formed a regular camp with gates during the short time that they had been 
upon the hill, especially as they had fled to it in great disorder. 

2 Stupor] Vecordia. A feeling that deprived them of all sense. 

3 C. In form of a square] Quadrato agmine. "A hollow square, with the 
baggage in the centre; see Serv. ad Virg. Mn. xii., 121. . ,. . Such an agmen Sal- 
lust, in c. 46, calls munitum, as it was prepared to defend itself against the enemy, 
from whatever quarter they might approach." Kritzim. 



THE JUGUBTHIXE WAR. 197 

orders would not be observed, but that the labour of the 
soldiers, shared equally by their general, might be endured 
by them with cheerfulness 1 . Indeed, jMarius, as well at this 
as at other periods of the war, kept his men to their duty 
rather by the dread of shame 2 than of severity ; a course 
which many said was adopted from desire of popularity, but 
some thought it was because he took pleasure in toils to 
which he had been accustomed from his youth, and in ex- 
ertions whi€h other men call perfect miseries. The public in- 
terest, however, was served with as much efficiency and honour 
as it could have been under the most rigorous command. 

CI. At length, on the fourth day of his march, when he 
was not far from the town of Cirta, his scouts suddenly made 
their appearance from all quarters at once ; a circumstance 
by which the enemy was known to be at hand. But as they 
came in from different points, and all gave the same account, 
the consul, doubting in what form to draw up his army, made 
no alteration in it, but halted where he was, being already 
prepared for every contingency. Jugurtha's expectations, in 
consequence, disappointed him ; for he had divided his force 
into four bodies, trusting that one of them, assuredly 3 , would 
surprise the Romans in the rear. Sylla, meanwhile, with 
whom they first came in contact, having cheered on his men, 
charged the Moors, in person and with his officers 4 , with 
troop after troop of cavalry, in the closest order possible; 
while the rest of his force, retaining their position, protected 
themselves against the darts thrown from a distance, and 
killed such of the enemy as fell into their hands. 

"While the cavaliy was thus engaged, Bocchus, with his in- 
fantry, which his son Yolux had brought up, and which, from 
delay on their march, had not been present in the former battle, 
assailed the Bomans in the rear. Marius was at that moment 

1 Might be endured by them with cheerfulness] Volentibus esset. A Greek 
phrase, 8ov\ojjl€vois et'77. 

2 Dread of shame] Pudore. Inducing each to have a regard to his character. 

3 CI. Trusting that one of them, assuredly, cfc] Ratus ex omnibus ceque 
allquos ah tergo hostibus centuros. By icque Sallust signifies that each of the 
four bodies would have an equal chance of coming on the rear of the Eomans. 

4 In person and -with his officers] Ipse aliique. " The alii are the prafecti 
equitum, officers of the cavalry." Kritzius. 



198 SALLUST. 

occupied in front, as Jugurtha was there with his largest force. 
The JNTumidian king, hearing of the arrival of Bocchus, 
wheeled secretly about, with a few of his followers, to the 
infantry 1 , and exclaimed in Latin, which he had learned to 
speak at Numantia, " that our men were struggling in vain ; 
for that he had just slain Marius with his own hand ;" show- 
ing, at the same time, his sword besmeared with blood, which 
he had, indeed, sufficiently stained by vigorously cutting down 
our infantry 2 . When the soldiers heard this, they felt a 
shock, though rather at the horror of such an event, than 
from belief in him who asserted it ; the barbarians, on the 
other hand, assumed fresh courage, and advanced with greater 
fury on the disheartened Eomans, who were just on the point 
of taking to night, when Sylla, having routed those to whom 
he had been opposed, fell upon the Moors in the flank. 
Bocchus instantly fled. Jugurtha, anxious to support his 
men, and to secure a victory so nearly won, was surrounded 
by our cavalry, and all his attendants, right and left, being 
slain, had to force a way alone, with great difficulty, through 
the weapons of the enemy. Marius, at the same time, having 
put to flight the cavalry, came up to support such of his men 
as he had understood to be giving ground. At last the 

1 Wheeled secretly about — to the infantry] Clam — ad pedites convortit. What 
infantry are meant, the commentators cannot agree, nor is there anything in the 
narrative on which a satisfactory decision can be founded. As the arrival of 
Bocchus is mentioned immediately before, Cortius supposes that the infantry of 
Bocchus are signified ; and it may be so ; but to whatever party the words were 
addressed, they were intended to be heard by the Romans, or for what purpose 
were they spoken in Latin ? Jugurtha may have spoken the words in both 
languages, and this, from what follows, would appear to have been the case, for 
both sides understood him. Quod ubi milites (evidently the Koman soldiers) 

• accepere—simul barbari animos toller e, #c. The clam signifies that Jugurtha 
turned about, or wheeled off, so as to escape the notice of Marius, with whom he 
had been contending. 

2 By vigorously cutting down our infantry] Satis impigre occiso pedite nostro. 
" A ces mots il leur montra son e'pe'e teinte du sang des notres, dont il venoit, en 
effet, de faire une assez cruelle boucherie." Be Brosses. Of the other French 
translators, Beauzee and Le Brun render the passage in a similar way ; Dotteville 
and Dureau Delamalle, as well as all our English translators, take pedite as 
signifying only one soldier. Sir Henry Steuart even specifies that it was " a 
legionary soldier." The commentators, I should suppose, have all regarded the 
word as having a plural signification ; none of them, except Burnouf, who ex- 
presses a needless doubt, say anything on the point. 



THE JTJaUETHI^E WAR. 199 

enemy were defeated in every quarter. The spectacle on the 
open plains was then frightful 1 ; some were pursuing, others 
fleeing; some were being slain, others captured; men and 
horses were dashed to the earth ; many, who were wounded, 
could neither flee nor remain at rest, attempting to rise, and 
instantly falling back ; and the whole field, as far as the eye 
could reach, was strewed with arms and dead bodies, and the 
intermediate spaces saturated with blood. 

CII. At length the consul, now indisputably victor, arrived 
at the town of Girta, whither he had at first intended to 
go. To this place, on the fifth day after the second defeat 
of the barbarians, came messengers from Bocchus, who, in 
the king's name, requested of Marius to send him two per- 
sons in whom he had full confidence, as he wished to confer 
with them on matters concerning both the interest of the 
Roman people and his own. Marius immediately despatched 
Sylla and Aulus "Manlius ; who, though they went at the 
king's invitation, thought proper, notwithstanding, to address 
him first, in the hope of altering his sentiments, if he were 
unfavourable to peace, or of strengthening his inclination, if 

1 The spectacle on the open plains was then frightful, $c. ] Turn spectaculum 
horribile campis patentibus, cfc. The idea of this passage was probably taken, 
as Ciacconius intimates, from a description in Xenophon, Agesil. ii., 12, 14, part 
of which is quoted by Longinus, Sect. 19, as an example of the effect produced 
by the omission of conjunctions : Kal crvfjL[3a\6vT€s ras dcnribas ecoflovvro, 
£}idxovTO) a.7T€KT€ivov, aTreBvqcrKOv. . . . 'E7ret ye /jltjv e\rj£ev rj 
fJ-dx 7 )^ TrapTJv t)rj 6edo~acr8ai evBa crvveivecrov dWrjXot,?, tt)v fiev yrjv 
alfiaTi 7T€<pvpfi€j/T]v, veKpovs de K.eip,evovs (piklovs kcl\ 7roXe/xtof s fier 
d\\r)\(QV) ao-7TL$as t)e diaTeOpyfifievas, bopara crvvTeOpavcrpeva, ey^ec 
pibia yvjxva Kovkeav ra p.ev xafxal, ra cf ev a w fiacre, ra tf en \iera 
%eipas. ; ' Closing their shields together, they pushed, they fought, tkey slew, 
they were slain. . . . But when the battle was over, you might have seen, where 
they had fought, the ground clotted with blood, the corpses of friends and ene- 
mies mingled together, and pierced shields, broken lances, and swords without 
their sheaths, strewed on the ground, sticking in the dead bodies, or still re- 
maining in the hands that had wielded them when alive." Tacitus, Agric. c. 37, 
has copied this description of Sallust, as all the commentators have remarked: 
Tujii verb patentibus locis grande et atrox spectaculum. Sequi, vidnerare, capere, 
atque eosdem, oblatis aliis, trucidare. . . . Passim arma et corpora, et laceri 
artus, et cruenta humus. " The sight on the open field was then striking and 
horrible; they pursued, they inflicted wounds, they took men prisoners, and 
slaughtered them as others presented themselves. . . . Everywhere were seen 
arms and corpses, mangled limbs, and the ground stained with blood." 



200 SALLUST. 

he were disposed to it. Sylla, therefore, to whose superiority, 
not in years but in eloquence, Manlius yielded precedence, 
spoke to Bocchus briefly as follows : 

" It gives us great pleasure, king Bocchus, that the gods 
have at length induced a man, so eminent as yourself, to 
prefer peace to war, and no longer to stain your own excel- 
lent character by an alliance with Jugurtha, the most in- 
famous of mankind ; and to relieve us, at the same time, 
from the disagreeable necessity of visiting with the same 
punishment your errors and his crimes. Besides, the Roman 
people, even from the very infancy 1 of their state, have 
thought it better to seek friends than slaves, thinking it 
safer to rule over willing than forced subjects. But to you 
no friendship can be more suitable than ours ; for, in the 
first place, we are at a distance from you, on which account 
there will be the less chance of misunderstanding between us, 
while our good feeling for you will be as strong as if we were 
near; and, secondly, because, though we have subjects in 
abundance, yet neither we, nor any other nation, can ever 
have a sufficiency of friends. "Would that such had been 
your inclination from the first ; for then you would assuredly, 
before this time, have received from the Roman people more 
benefits than you have now suffered evils. But since For- 
tune has the chief control in human affairs, and it has pleased 
her that you should experience our force as well as our 
favour, now, when she gives you this fair opportunity, embrace 
it without delay, and complete the course which you have 
begun. Tou have manj r and excellent means of atoning, with 
great ease, for past errors by future services. Impress this, 
however, deeply on your mind, that the Roman people are 

1 CII. Besides, the Roman people, even from the very infancy, cj-c] The reading 
of this passage, before the edition of Cortius, was this: Ad hoc, populo Romano 
jam a principio inopi melius visum amicos, quam servos, quaivere, Gruter pro- 
posed to read Ad hoc populo Romano inopi melius est visum, cfc, whence Cortius 
made Ad hoc, populo Romano jam inopi visum, cj-c. But the Bipont editors, 
observing that inopi was not quite consistent with quaivere servos, altered the 
passage to Ad hoc, pjopulo Romano jam a principio reipublicai melius visum, cfc, 
which seems to be the best emendation that has been proposed, and which I have 
accordingly followed. Kritzius and Dietsch adopt it, except that they omit 
reipublicce, and put nothing in the place of inopi. Gerlach retains inopi, on the 
principle of " quo insolentius, eo verms," and it may, after all, be genuine. 
Cortius omitted melius on no authority but his own. 



THE JTJGTTRTHINE WAB. 201 

never outdone in acts of kindness ; of their power in war 
you have already sufficient knowledge." 

To this address Bocchus made a temperate and courteous 
reply, offering a few observations, at the same time, in exte- 
nuation of his error; and saying "that he had taken arms, 
not with any hostile feeling, but to defend his own dominions, 
as part of Numidia, out of which he had forcibly driven 
Jugurtha 1 , was his by right of conquest, and he could not 
allow^ it to be laid waste by Marius ; that when he formerly 
sent ambassadors to the Romans, he was refused their friend- 
ship ; but that he would say nothing more of the past, and 
would, if Marius gave him permission, send another embassy 
to the senate." Eut no sooner was this permission granted, 
than the purpose of the barbarian was altered by some of 
his friends, whom Jugurtha, hearing of the mission of Sylla 
and Manlius, and fearful of what was intended by it, had 
corrupted with bribes. 

CIIL Marius, in the mean time, having settled his army 
in winter quarters, set out, with the light-armed cohorts and 
part of the cavalry, into a desert part of the country, to 
besiege a fortress of Jugurtha' s, in which he had placed a 
garrison consisting wholly of Roman deserters. And now 
again Bocchus, either from reflecting on what he had suffered, 
in the two engagements, or from being admonished by such 
of his friends as Jugurtha had not corrupted, selected, out of 
the whole number of his adherents, five persons of approved 
integrity and eminent abilities, whom he directed to go, in 
the first place, to Marius, and afterwards to proceed, if Ma- 
rius gave his consent, as ambassadors to Rome, granting 
them full powers to treat concerning his affairs, and to con- 
clude the war upon any terms whatsoever. These five imme- 
diately set out for the Roman winter quarters, but being 

1 Out of which he had forcibl} 7 driven Jugurtha] Unde vi Jugurtham ex- 
pulerit \_expulerat~]. There is here some obscurity. The manuscripts vary 
between expulerit and expulerat. Cortius, and Gerlach in his second edition, 
adopt expulerat, which they of necessity refer to Marius ; but to make Bocchus 
speak thus, is, as Kritzius says, to make him speak very foolishly and arrogantly. 
Kritzius himself, accordingly, adopts expulerit, and supposes that Bocchus invents 
a falsehood, in the belief that the Romans would have no means of detecting it. 
But Bocchus may have spoken truth, referring, as Miiiler suggests, to some 
previous transactions between him and Jugurtha, to which Sallust does not else- 
where allude. 



202 SALLTJST. 

beset and spoiled by Getulian robbers on the way, fled, in 
alarm and ill plight 1 , to Sylla, whom the consul, when he 
went on his expedition, had left as pro-prsetor with the army. 
Sylla received them, not, as they had deserved, like faithless 
enemies, but with the greatest ceremony and munificence ; 
from which the barbarians concluded that what was said of 
Roman avarice was false, and that Sylla, from his generosity, 
must be their friend. For interested bounty 3 , in those days, 
was still unknown to many ; by whom every man who was 
liberal was also thought benevolent, and all presents were 
considered to proceed from kindness. They therefore dis- 
closed to the quaestor their commission from Bocchus, and 
asked him to be their patron and adviser ; extolling, at the 
same time, the power, integrity, and grandeur of their 
monarch, and adding whatever they thought likely to pro- 
mote their objects, or to secure the favour of Sylla. Sylla 
promised them all that they requested ; and, being instructed 
how to address Marius and the senate, they tarried in the 
camp about forty days 3 . 

CIV. "When Marius, having failed in the object 4 of his ex- 
pedition, returned to Cirta, and was informed of the arrival 
of the ambassadors, he desired both them and Sylla to come 
to him, together with Lucius Bellienus, the praetor from 
Utica, and all that were of senatorial rank in any part of 
the country, with whom he discussed the instructions of 
Bocchus to his ambassadors ; to whom permission to proceed 
to Rome was granted by the consul. In the mean time a 
truce was asked, a request to which assent was readily ex- 
pressed by Sylla and the majority ; the few, who advocated 
harsher measures, were men inexperienced in human affairs, 
which, unstable and fluctuating, are always verging to oppo- 
site extremes 5 . 

1 C1II. In ill plight] Sine decor e. 

2 Interested bounty] Largitio. " The word signifies liberal treatment of others 
with a view to our own interest; without any real goodwttl." Midler. "He 
intends a severe stricture on his own age, and the manners of the Romans." 
Dietsch. 

3 About forty days] Waiting, apparently, for the return of Marius. 

4 CIV. Having failed in the object, c$-c] Infecto, quo intenderat, negotio. 
Though this is the reading of most of the manuscripts, Kritzius, Miiller, and 
Dietsch, read confecto, as if Marius could not have failed in his attempt. 

6 Are always verging to opposite extremes] Semper in advorsa mutant Rose 



THE JUGTJBTBXN T E WAB. 203 

The Moors having obtained all that they desired, three of 
them started for Rome with Cneius Octavius Rufus, who, as 
quaestor, had brought pay for the army to Africa ; the other 
two returned to Bocchus, who heard from them, with great 
pleasure, their account both of other particulars, and especially 
of the courtesy and attention of Sylla. 

To his three ambassadors that went to Rome, when, after a 
deprecatory acknowledgment that their king had been in 
error, and had been led astray by the treachery of Jugurtha, 
they solicited for him friendship and alliance, the following 
answer was given : " The senate and people of Rome are 
wont to be mindful of both services and injuries ; they par- 
don Bocchus, since he repents of his fault, and will grant him 
their alliance and friendship when he shall have deserved 
them." 

CV. "When this reply was communicated to Bocchus, he 
requested Marius, by letter, to send Sylla to him, that, at his 
discretion 1 , measures might be adopted for their common in- 
terest. Sylla was accordingly despatched, attended with a 
guard of cavalry, infantry, and Balearic slingers, besides some 
archers and a Pelignian cohort, who, for the sake of expedi- 
tion, were furnished with light arms, which, however, pro- 
tected them, as efficiently as any others, against the light 
darts of the enemy. As he was on his march, on the fifth 
day after he set out, Volux, the son of Bocchus, suddenly 
appeared on the open plain with a body of cavalry, which 
amounted in reality to not more than a thousand, but which, 
as they approached in confusion and disorder, presented to 
Sylla and the rest the appearance of a greater number, and 
excited apprehensions of hostility. Every one, therefore, pre- 
pared himself for action, trying and presenting 3 his arms aud 

renders this " are always changing, and constantly for the worse ;" and most 
other translators have given something similar. But this is absurd ; for every 
one sees that all changes in human affairs are not for the worse, Adversa is 
evidently to be taken in the sense which I have given. 

1 CV. At his discretion] Arbitrate. Kritzius observes that this word com- 
prehends the notion of plenary powers to treat and decide: der mit unbeschrdnkter 
Vollmacht unterhandeln Konnte. 

2 Presenting] Intendere. The critics are in doubt to what to refer this word ; 
some have thought of understanding animum ; Cortius, Wasse, and Miiller, think 
it is meant only of the bows of the archers ; Kritzius, Burnouf, and Allen, refer 
it, apparently with better judgment, to the arma and tela in general. 



204 SALLUST. 

weapons ; some fear was felt among them, but greater hope, 
as they were now conquerors, and were only meeting those 
whom they had often overcome. After a while, however, a 
party of horse, sent forward to reconnoitre, reported, as was 
the case, that nothing but peace was intended. 
~ CVI. Volux, coming forward, addressed himself to Sylla, 
saying that he was sent by Bocchus his father to meet and 
escort him. The two parties accordingly formed a junction, 
and prosecuted their journey, on that day and the following, 
without any alarm. But when they had pitched their camp, 
and evening had set in, Volux came running, with looks of 
perplexity, to Sylla, and said that he had learned from his 
scouts that Jugurtha was at hand, intreating and urging him, 
at the same time, to escape with him privately in the night. 
Sylla boldly replied, " that he had no fear of Jugurtha, an 
enemy so often defeated ; that he had the utmost confidence 
in the valour of his troops ; and that, even if certain destruc- 
tion were at hand, he would rather keep his ground, than 
save, by deserting his followers, a life at best uncertain, and 
perhaps soon to be lost by disease." Being pressed, however, 
by Volux, to set forward in the night, he approved of the 
suggestion, and immediately ordered his men to despatch 
their supper 1 , to light as many fires as possible in the camp, 
and to set out in silence at the first watch. 

"When they were all fatigued with their march during the 
/ night, and Sylla was preparing, at sunrise, to pitch his 
• camp, the Moorish cavalry announced that Jugurtha was en- 
j camped about two miles in advance. At this report, great 
; dismay fell upon our men ; for they believed themselves be- 
trayed by Volux, and led into an ambuscade. Some ex- 
claimed that they ought to take vengeance on him at once, 
and not to suffer such perfidy to remain unpunished. 

CVII. But Sylla, though he had similar thoughts, pro- 
f tected the Moor from violence ; exhorting his soldiers to 
[ keep up their spirits ; and saying, " that a handful of brave 
men had often fought successfully against a multitude ; that 
j the less anxious they were to save their lives in battle, the 
■ greater would be their security ; and that no man, who had 

1 CVI. To despatch their supper] Camatos esse. " The perfect is not without 
its force; it signifies that Sylla wished his orders to be performed with the 
greatest expedition." Kritzius. He orders them to have done supper. 



THE JUGT7ETHINE WAE. 205 

arms in his hands, ought to trust for safety to his unarmed 
heels, or to turn to the enemy, in however great danger, the 
defenceless and blind parts of his body 1 ." Having then 
called almighty Jupiter to witness the guilt and perfidy of 
Bocchus, he ordered Yolux, as being an instrument of his 
father's hostility 2 , to quit the camp. 

Yolux, with tears in his eyes, intreated him to entertain 
no such suspicions ; declaring " that nothing in the affair had 
been caused by treachery on his part, but ail by the subtilty 
of Jugurtha, to whom his line of march had become known 
through his scouts. But as Jugurtha had no great force with 
him, and as his hopes and resources were dependent on his 
father Bocchus, he assuredly would not attempt any open 
violence, when the son of Bocchus would himself be a witness 
of it. He thought it best for Sylla, therefore, to march 
boldly through the middle of his camp, and that as for him- 
self, he would either send forward his Moors, or leave them 
where they were, and accompany Sylla alone." This course, 
under such circumstances, was adopted; they set forward 
without delay, and, as they came upon Jugurtha unexpectedly, 
while he was in doubt and hesitation how to act, they passed 
without molestation. In a few days afterwards, they arrived 
at the place to which their march was directed. 

CYIII. There was, at this time, in constant and familiar 
intercourse with Bocchus, a JSTumidian named Aspar, who had 
been sent to him by Jugurtha, when he heard of Sylla' s in- 
tended interview, in the character of ambassador, but secretly 
to be a spy on the IMauretanian king's proceedings. There was 
also with him a certain Dabar, son of Massugrada, one of the 
family of Masinissa 3 , but of inferior birth on the maternal 
side, as his father was the son of a concubine. Dabar, for 
his many intellectual endowments, was liked and esteemed by 

1 CYII. And blind parts of his body] C cecum corpus. Imitated from Xenoph on, 
Cyrop. ill-, 3, 45: Mcopbv yap to Kpareiv (3ov\op,evovs, ra rv<p\a tov 
o-a)fiaro^ Ka\ aonrka, kcu a^etpcz, ravra ivavria Tarreiv rots 7roXe/ziW 
(pevyovras. " It is folly for those that desire to conquer, to turn the blind, 
unarmed, and handless parts of the body, to the enemy in flight." 

2 As being an instrument of his father's hostility] Quoniam hostilia faceret. 
11 Since he wished to deceive the Romans by pretended friendship." 3f tiller. 

3 C VIII. Of the family of Masinissa] Ex gente Masinissai. Massugrada was 
the son of Masinissa by a concubine. 



206 SALLUST. 

Bocchus, who, having found him faithful 1 on many former 
occasions, sent him forthwith to Sylla, to say " that he was 
ready to do whatever the Eomans desired ; that Sylla him- 
self should appoint the place, day, and hour 2 , for a confer- 
ence ; that he kept all points, which he had settled with him 
before, inviolate 3 ; and that he was not to fear the presence of 
Jugurtha's ambassador as any restraint 4 on the discussion of 
their common interests, since, without admitting him, he 
could have no security against Jugurtha's treachery." I find, 
however, that it was rather from African duplicity 5 than from 
the motives which he professed, that Bocchus thus allured • 
both the Eomans and Jugurtha with the hopes of peace ; 

1 Faithful] Fidum. After this word, in the editions of Cortius, Kritzius, Ger- 
lach, Allen, and Dietsch, follows Romanis or esse Romanis. These critics defend 
Romanis on the plea that a dative is necessary after fidum, and that it was of im- 
portance, as Castilioneus observes, that Dabar should be well disposed towards the 
Eomans, and not have been corrupted, like many other courtiers of Bocchus, by 
the bribes of Jugurtha. Glareanus, Badius Ascensius, the Bipont' editors, and 
Burnouf, with most of the translators, omit Romanis, and I have thought proper 
to imitate their example. 

2 Place, day, and hour] Diem, locum., tempus. Not only the day, but the time 
of the day. 

3 That he kept all points, which he had settled with him before, inviolate] 
Consulta sese omnia cum illo integra habere. Kritzius justly observes that most 
editors, in interpreting this passage, have erroneously given to consulta the sense 
of consulenda; and that the sense is, " that all that he had arranged with Sylla 
before, remained unaltered, and that he was not drawn from his resolutions by the 

influence of Jugurtha." 

4 And that he was not to fear the presence of Jugurtha's ambassador, as any 
restraint, ^c] Neu Jugurihm legatum pertimesceret, quo res communis licentius 
gereretur. There is some difficulty in this passage. Burnouf makes the nearest 
approach to a satisfactory explanation of it. " Sylla," says he, " was not to fear 
the envoy of Jugurtha, quo, on which account (equivalent to eoque, and on that 
account, i. e. on account of his freedom from apprehension) their common interests 
would be more freely arranged." Yet it appears from what follows that fear of 
Jugurtha's envoy could not be dismissed, and that there could be no freedom of 
discussion in his presence, as Sylla was to say but little before him, and to speak 
more at large at a private meeting. These considerations have induced Kritzius 
to suppose that the word remoto, or something similar, has been lost after quo. 
The Bipont editors inserted cautum esse before quo, which is without authority, 
and does not at all assist the sense. 

5 African duplicity] Punicdjide. " Punica fides was a well-known proverbial 
expression for treachery and deceit. The origin of it is perhaps attributable not 
so much to fact, as to the implacable hatred of the Komans toward the Cartha- 
ginians." Burnouf. 



THE JTTGTTRTHIKE WAE. 207 

that he frequently debated with himself whether he should 
deliver Jugurtha to the Romans, or Sylla to Jugurtha ; and 
that his inclination swayed him against us, but his fears in 
our favour. 

CIX. Sylla replied/ "that he should speak on but few 

; particulars before Aspar, and discuss others at a private 
meeting, or in the presence of only a few ;" dictating, at the 
same time, what answer should be returned by Bocchus 1 . 
Afterwards, when they met, as Bocchus had desired, Sylla 
stated, " that he had come, by order of the consul, to inquire 
whether he would resolve on peace or on war." Bocchus, as 
he had been previously instructed by Sylla, requested him to 
come again at the end of ten days, since he had as yet 
formed no determination, but would at that time give a deci- 
sive answer. Both then retired to their respective camps 3 . 
But when the night was far advanced, Sylla was secretly sent 
for by Bocchus. At their interview, none but confidential 
interpreters were admitted on either side, together with Dabar, 
the messenger between them, a man of honour, and held in 
esteem by both parties. The king at once commenced thus : 
CX. " I never expected that I, the greatest monarch in this 
part of the world, and the richest of all whom I know, should 

i ever owe a favour to a private man. Indeed, Sylla, before I 
knew you, I gave assistance to many who solicited me, and 
to others without solicitation, and stood in need of no man's 
assistance. But at this loss of independence, at which others 
are wont to repine, I am rather inclined to rejoice. It will 
be a pleasure to me 3 to have once needed your friendship, 
than which I hold nothing dearer to my heart. Of the sin- 
cerity of this assertion you may at once make trial ; take my 
arms, my soldiers, my money, or whatever you please, and 
use it as your own. But do not suppose, as long as you 

1 CIX. What answer should be returned by Bocchus] That is, in the presence 
of Aspar. 

2 Both then retired to their respective camps] Deinde arabo in sua castra 
digressi. Both, i. e. Bocchus and Sylla, not Aspar and Sylla, as Cortius imagines. 

3 CX. It will be a pleasure to me] Fuerit milii. Some editions, as that of 
Langius, the Bipont, and Burnouf 's, have fuerit mihi pretium. Something of the 
kind seems to be wanting. " Res in bonis numeranda fuerit mihi." Burnouf. 
Allen, who omits pretium, interprets, " Grata mihi egestas sit, qua? ad tuam 
amicitiam confugiat ;" but who can deduce this sense from the passage, unless he 
have pretium, or something similar, in his mind? 



208 SALLITST. 

live, that your kindness to me has been fully requited : my 
sense of it will always remain undiminished, and you shall, 
with my knowledge, wish for nothing in vain. Tor, as I am 
of opinion, it is less dishonourable to a prince to be con- 
quered in battle than to be surpassed in generosity. 

" With respect to your republic, whose interests you are 
sent to guard, hear briefly what I have to say. I have 
neither made war upon the Roman people, nor desired that 
it should be made ; I have merely defended my territories 
with arms against an armed force. But from hostilities, 
since such is your pleasure, I now desist. Prosecute the war 
with Jugurtha as you think proper. The river Mulucha, 
which was the boundary between Miscipsa and me, I shall 
neither pass myself, nor suffer Jugurtha to come within it. 
And if you shall ask anything besides, worthy of me and of 
yourself, you shall not depart with a refusal." 

CXI. To this speech Sylla replied, as far as concerned 
himself, briefly and modestly; but spoke, with regard to the 
peace and their common concerns, much more at length. 
He signified to the king " that the senate and people of 
Rome, as they had the superiority in the field, would think 
themselves little obliged by what he promised ; that he must 
do something which would seem more for their interest than 
his own ; and that for this there was now a fair opportunity, 
since he had Jugurtha in his power, for, if he delivered him 
to the Eomans, they would feel greatly indebted to him, and 
their friendship and alliance, as well as that part of JSTumidia 
which he claimed 1 , would readily be granted him." Bocchus 
at first refused to listen to the proposal, saying that affinity, 
the ties of blood 3 , and a solemn league, connected him with 
Jugurtha ; and that he feared, if he acted insincerely, he 
might alienate the affections of his subjects, by whom 
Jugurtha was beloved, and the Eomans disliked. But at 
last, after being frequently importuned, his resolution gave 
way 3 , and he engaged to do everything in accordance with 

1 CXI. That part of Numidia which he claimed] Numzdice partem qumn nunc 
peteret. See the second note on c. 102. Bocchus continues, in his speech in the 
preceding chapter, to signify that a part of Numidia belonged to him. 

2 The ties of blood] Cognationem. To this blood-relationship between him and 
Jugurtha no allusion is elsewhere made. 

3 His resolution gave way] Lenitur. Cortius, whom Gerlach and Miiller follow, 



THE JUGUETHINE WAB. 209 

Sylla' s wishes. They then concerted measures for conducting 
a pretended treaty of peace, of which Jugurtha, weary of 
war, was extremely desirous. Having settled their plans, 
they separated. 

CXII. On the next day Bocchus sent for Aspar, Jugurtha' s 
envoy, and acquainted hirn that he had ascertained from Sylla, 
through Dabar, that the war might be concluded on certain 
conditions ; and that he should therefore make inquiry as 
to the sentiments of his king. Aspar proceeded with joy to 
Jugurtha' s camp, and having received full instructions from 
him, returned in haste to Bocchus at the end of eight days, 
with intelligence " that Jugurtha was eager to do whatever 
might be required, but that he put little confidence in 
Marius, as treaties of peace, concluded with Boman generals, 
had often before proved of no effect ; that if Bocchus, how- 
ever, wished to consult the interests of both 1 , and to have 
an established peace, he should endeavour to bring all par- 
ties together to a conference, as if to settle the conditions, 
and then deliver Sylla into his hands, for when he had such 
a man in his power, a treaty would at once be concluded by 
order of the senate and people of Borne ; as a man of high 
rank, who had fallen into the hands of the enemy, not from 
want of spirit, but from zeal for the public interest, would 
not be left in captivity. 

CXIII. The Moor, after long meditation on these sugges- 
tions, at length expressed his assent to them, but whether in 
pretence or sincerity I have not been able to discover. But 
the inclinations of kings, as they are violent, are often fickle, 
and at variance with themselves, At last, after a time and 
place were fixed for coming to a conference about the treaty, 
Bocchus addressed himself at one time to Sylla and at an- 
other to the envoy of Jugurtha, treating them with equal 
affability, and making the same professions to both. Both 
were in consequence equally delighted, and animated with 
the fairest expectations. But on the night preceding the 
day appointed for the conference, the Moor, after first 
assembling his friends, and then, on a change of mind, dis- 
missing them, is reported to have had many anxious strag- 

reads leniter, but, with Kritzius and Gerlach, I prefer the verb to the^adverb ; 
which, however, is found in the greater number of the manuscripts. 
1 CXII. Interests of both] Ambolics. Both himself and Jugurtha. 

P 



210 SALLUST. 

gles with himself, disturbed alike in his thoughts and his 
gestures, which, even when he was silent, betrayed the secret 
agitation of his mind. At last, however, he ordered that 
Sylla should be sent for, and, according to his desire, laid an 
ambush for Jugurtha. 

As soon as it was day, and intelligence was brought that 
Jugurtha was at hand, Bocchus, as if. to meet him and do 
him honour, went forth, attended by a few friends, and our 
qusestor, as far as a little hill, which was full in the view of 
the men who were placed in ambush. To the same spot 
came Jugurtha with most of his adherents, unarmed, accord- 
ing to agreement ; when immediately, on a signal being 
given, he was assailed on all sides by those who were lying 
in wait. The others were cut to pieces, and Jugurtha him- 
self was delivered bound to Sylla, and by him conducted to 
Marius. 

CXIV. At this period war was carried on unsuccessfully by 
our generals Quintus Csepio and Marcus Manlius, against 
the Gauls ; with the terror of which all Italy was thrown 
into consternation, Both the Bomans of that day, indeed, 
and their descendants, down to our own times, maintained 
the opinion that all other nations must yield to their valour, 
but that they contended with the G-auls, not for glory, but 
merely in self-defence. But after the war in Xumidia was 
ended, and it was announced that .Jugurtha was coming in 
chains to Borne, Marius, though absent from the city, was 
created consul, and Gaul decreed to him as his province. 
On the first of January he triumphed as consul, with great 
glory. At that time 1 the hopes and dependence of the state 
were placed on him. 

1 CXIV. At that time] Ed tempestate. " In many manuscripts is found ex 
ed tempestate, by which the sense is wholly perverted. Sallust signifies that 
Marius did not continue always deserving of such honour ; for, as is said in c. 63, 
1 he was afterwards carried headlong by ambition.' " Kritzius. 




j ; 






CX*AAA-W 






CHRONOLOGY OF THE JUGURTHINE WAR. 

EXTRACTED FROM DE BROSSES. 



545. Coss. M. Claudius Maecellus, T. Quisttius Ceis- 
pinus. — Masinissa succeeds to the throne of his father 
Gala. 

549. — M.Cornelius Cethegus, P. Sempeonius Tuditanus. 
— Masinissa, driven from his dominions by Syphax, king 
of another part of Numidia, joins the Eomans. 

550. — Cn. Seevilius C^pio, C. Seeyilius JNepos. — Syphax 
is taken prisoner. Masinissa is restored to his throne, 
and unites all ]Numidia under his sway. 

595. — Q. Pulyius Nobilioe, T. Annius Lusus. — About 
this time Jugurtha is born. 

605. — Sp. Posthumius Albinus, L. Calpuenius Piso. — 
Masinissa, after a reign of sixty years, dies, leaving 
three sons, Micipsa, Mastanabal, and Grulussa ; but the 
two latter dying, Micipsa becomes sole king. 

613. — C. L^ilius Sapiens, Q. Seeyilius C^pio. — The 
siege of Numantia is commenced, during which Jugur- 
tha and Marius serve together under Scipio. 

620. — P. Mutius SciEYOLA, L. Calpuenius Piso. — Xu- 
mantia is taken. 

632. — Q. Pabius JEmilianus Maximus, L. Opimius. — 
Micipsa adopts Jugurtha, son of Mastanabal. 

635. — M. Poecius Cato, Q. Maecius Eex. — Micipsa dies, 
after a reign of thirty years, and his two sons, Adherbal 
and Hiempsal, with Jugurtha, succeed conjointly to his 
dominions. 

636. — L. CiEciLius Mbtellus, Q. Mucius Sc^yola. — 
Hiempsal is killed by Jugurtha in the first year of his 
reign. Civil war ensues between Jugurtha and Adher- 
bal, who is defeated, and takes refuge in the Eoman 
province. 

p2 



212 SALLTJST. 

A.U.C. 

637. Coss. C. Licikitjs Geta, Q. Pabitts Eburktjs. — Ad- 
herbal arrives at Home, whither also Jugurtha sends 
ambassadors. Eoth parties plead before the Senate. 
Opimius is deputed by the Senate into Africa. 

638. — M. ^Emilius Scaurus, M. C&ctlius ALetellus. 
— Opiums divides Numidia between Adherbal and 
Jugurtha. 

639. — M. Acilitjs Balbus, C. Porcius Cato. — Yv ar is re- 
newed between Adherbal and Jugurtha. 

640. — C. CiECiLiijs Metellus, fe. Papirius Careo. — 
Adherbal is defeated, and takes refuge in Cirta, which is 
besieged by Jugurtha. The Senate sends three com- 
missioners into Africa. 

641. — M. Lrvius Erusus, L. Calpurnius Piso. — Cirta 
having been besieged more than four months, Adherbal 
addresses a letter to the Senate. Scaurus goes as deputy 
into Africa. Cirta is taken, and Adherbal put to death 
in the sixth year of his reign. Memmius is tribune of 
the people. The Eomans declare war against Jugurtha. 

642. — P. Cornelius Scipio jNasica, L. Calpurnius Piso 
Bestia. — Calpurnius is appointed general of the army 
in JNTumidia, and Scaurus second in command. Jugur- 
tha sends ambassadors to Borne, with bribes. The 
Boman army enters JNTumidia, and the war is com- 
menced. Jugurtha induces Calpurnius to make a treaty 
of peace. Calpurnius sets out from Africa, about the 
month of July, to hold the comitia at Borne. Memmius 
makes a speech to the people, Sail. Jug. c. 31. Cassius, 
in consequence of it, is sent into jNfumidia. Jugurtha 
accompanies Cassius to Borne. 

643. — M. Minucius Burus, Sp. Posthoiitts Albinus. — 
Bomilcar, at the instigation of Jugurtha, assassinates 
Massiva at Borne. Jugurtha returns to Xumidia. The 
consul Albinus enters Nimiidia with his army, but per- 
forms no operation of importance. In the autumn he 
returns to Borne, leaving the army under the command 
of his brother Aulus. Mamilius Limetanus becomes 
tribune of the people. 

644. — Q. C/ecilius Metellus Xumldicus, IT. Junius 
Silanus. — Aulus leads his army out from its winter 
quarters in the month of January, and lays siege to 



CHB0X0L0GY OE THE JTGUETHI^E WAE. 213 

A.U.C. 

Suthul. He raises the siege, is surprised by Jugurtha, 
and surrenders on disgraceful terms, making at the 
same time a treaty with Jugurtha, which the Senate 
afterwards declare inyalid. Albinus returns to ]Sumidia, 
and resigns the command of the army to the consul 
Metellus. Metellus chooses for his lieutenant-generals 
Marius and Butilius. The Mamilian law is passed, by 
which Calpurnius, Albinus, and Opimius, are sent into 
exile. Yacca is taken. Battle near the Muthul. Siege 
of Zama by Metellus. Affair of cay airy near " Sicca. 
Metellus raises the siege of Zama, and goes into winter 
quarters in the Boman proyince. 

645. — Seey. SuLPiTirs G-alba, M. JE^ilius Scaeetjs Hoe- 
TE^sirs. — Jugurtha makes a treaty with Metellus, 
breaks it, and resumes hostilities. The ISTumidians sur- 
prise the city of Yacca ; Metellus recoyers it. Nab- 
dalsa and Bomilcar conspire against Jugurtha. Marius ' 
quits the army, and obtains the consulship at Borne. 
Jugurtha is defeated, and throws himself into Thala, 
which Metellus soon after besieges. C. Annius, with a 
party of soldiers, is sent as goyernor to Leptis. Thala 
is taken ; Jugurtha flees into Gretulia, and forms a league 
with Bocchus, king of Mauretania. The two kings take 
up their position near Cirta, and Metellus encamps at 
no great distance from them. 

646. — L. CASsirs Lo^glsts, C. Maeitjs. — The Senate wish 
to continue Metellus in command of the army, but are 
opposed by the people, who giye it to Marius. Marius 
appoints Manlius and Cinna his lieutenant-generals, 
harangues the people, makes new levies, and, setting out 
from Borne, lands at TJtica. Metellus triumphs. Marius, 
» assuming the command, has several skirmishes with 
Jugurtha, and then makes an attempt on the city of 
Capsa, which he takes. 

647. — C. AttiljXS Seeeanes, Q. Seeyilius C.epio. — Me- 
tellus takes a strong fort on the borders of Mauretania. 
Sylla arrives in the army. Bocchus and Jugurtha again 
unite their forces, and attack Marius on his march ; Ma- 
rius retires, with some loss, to two neighbouring hills, 
but attacks and routs the barbarians the following night. 
Jugurtha and Bocchus are again defeated near Cirta, and 



214 SALLTTST. 

A.U.C. 

the Boman army goes into winter quarters on the sea- 
eoast. Bocchus expresses a wish for peace ; Sylla and 
Manlius have an interview with him. Marius makes an 
unsuccessful attempt on a fortress of Jugurtha' s, Sail. 
Jug. c. 103, 104. 
648. — P. Btjtilitts Burrs, C. Maklius Maximus. — Boc- 
chus sends deputies to Marius, who assembles a council 
to give them audience. The deputies are allowed to 
proceed as ambassadors to Borne, and the Senate grants 
Bocchus peace. Sylla goes to confer with Bocchus ; is 
met by his son Volux, who attends him to his father. 
After some secret negotiation between Bocchus and 
Sylla, Bocchus betrays Jugurtha into the hands of the 
Bomans. 



The conclusion of the Jugwihine War is quite as abrupt 
as that of the Conspiracy of Catiline. Jugurtha, being con- 
veyed to Borne, was led in triumph, with his two sons, by 
Marius. But the humiliation which he experienced, on that 
occasion, was more than his haughty spirit could endure, and 
he lost his senses before the termination of the procession. 
He was then led to the Tullian dungeon, the same into which 
the accomplices of Catiline were afterwards thrown, and pre- 
cipitated, with great ignominy and violence, to the bottom of 
it. In his descent, he is said to have exclaimed, " Heavens, 
how cold is this bath of yours !" He survived, according to 
Plutarch and others, six days. See Plutarch, Vit. Mar. 
Eutrop. iv., 11, seg. Eutropius, however, says that he was 
strangled in prison. At the end of some manuscript copies 
of the Jugurthine "War is added the distich, 

Si cupis ignotum Jugurthas noscere letum, 
Tarpeiaa rupis pulsus ad ima ruit. 

But this was the production of somebody more willing to in- 
form others than himself. 

" Sylla had medals distributed, on one side of which was 
the consul in his chariot, drawn by four horses abreast, holding 
in his right hand the reins, and in his left a palm-branch, with 
the inscription C. Marius, C. E. Cos., and on the other a 
head of Jupiter Capitolinus, with the words, L. Cornel. 
Sylla, Pr. Q. It is a constant tradition, that the two great 



CHBOXOLOGY OF THE JUGrKTHINE WAB. 215 

trophies which are still to be seen in the court of the Capitol 
at Borne, and which were transported thither from the Mar- 
tian aqueduct, are those of Marius. But if they are his, it 
will not be easy to decide whether they are those of the con- 
quest of JNTiinridia or of the victory oyer the Cimbri. Petrarch, 
indeed, says that they are undoubtedly those of the victories 
over Jugurtha, but he is decidedly in the wrong when he 
adds that they are representations of those which Bocchus 
sent to be dedicated in the Capitol. Those of Bocchus, made 
of gold, and representing Jugurtha delivered by the king 
of Mauretania to Sylla, were of quite a different nature 
from those which we see cut in stone in the court of the 
Capitol. # * # For myself, I am inclined to think 
that one of the two refers to Jugurtha, and the other to the 
Cimbri. # =& # 

" The Eomans did not immediately unite the whole of 
.Xumidia to their empire. A portion bordering on Mauretania 
was given to Bocchus, as a recompense for his services, and 
called New Mauretania. Another portion was given to Hiemp- 
sal II., whom Appian calls Mandrestal, son of Grulussa, and 
grandson of Masinissa. * # * To Hiempsal II. suc- 
ceeded his son Juba I., who took part in the civil war against 
Caesar. Caesar, having defeated him in the battle of Thapsus, 
united all JSurnidia to the Boman empire. Augustus restored 
to his son, Juba II., one of the most learned men of his age, 
the kingdom of his fathers. This Juba had two wives, Cleo- 
patra, daughter of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, and Grla- 
phyra, daughter of Archelaus, king of Cappadocia, and widow 
of Alexander, son of Herod of Judea. He was succeeded by 
Ptolemy, his son by Cleopatra ; after whose death JNuinidia 
had no more kings, but continued a Boman province. A 
]Sumidian named Dac-Barnas, or the little Pbarnaces, a name 
which the Bomans metamorphosed into Tacfarinas, usurped 
the government of it with an army in the reign of Tiberius, 
but his struggles to retain it ended in his defeat and death, 
and made no alteration in the condition of the country.' * 
De JBrosses. 









FRAGMENTS OF THE HISTORY OF SALLUST. 













i 

Of these Fragments the greater part were collected from the grammarians, and 
other writers who have cited Sallust, by Paulus Manutius and Ludovicus Carrio. 
Subsequent critics have augmented, corrected, and illustrated them. That the 
Speeches and Epistles, which form the larger portion of them, have reached us 
entire, is owing to their preservation in an old manuscript, in which they had 
been added to the Conspiracy of Catiline and the Jugurthine War, and from 
which Pomponius Lsetus extracted them for the press. Cortius. 

Of all who have endeavoured to illustrate these Fragments, the most successful 
has been De Brosses, who, by throwing light on many that were obscure, uniting 
some that had been disjoined, and supplying, from other writers, what appeared 
to have been lost, has given a restoration, as far as was possible, of Sallust's 
History in French. It must be allowed that the work which he has produced is 
worthy of being read by every student of Roman history. 

Sallust gave a historical record of the affairs at Pome from A.u.c. 675, when 
Sylia laid down the dictatorship, to a.u.c. 688, when Pompey, by the law of 
Manilius, was appointed general in the Mithridatic war. During this period 
occurred the civil disturbances excited by Lepidus after the death of Sylla, the 
wars of Sertorius and Spartacus, the destruction of the pirates, and the victories 
of Lucullus over Mithridates. To his narrative he prefixed a summary of events 
from the end of the Jugurthine War ; so that the Jugurtha, the History, and the 
Catiline comprehended, in an uninterrupted series, the occurrences of fifty-five 
years, from 636 to 691. Burnouf. 

All the Fragments of any importance are here translated. The names appended 
to them are those of the grammarians, or other writers, from whom they have 
been extracted. The text of them can scarcely be said to be settled ; Cortius 
and Burnouf are the two editors that have bestowed most pains upon it. I have 
in general followed Burnouf. 

I have recorded the acts of tlie Soman people, military 
and civil, in the consulship of Marcus Lepidus and Quintus 
Catulus 1 , and the subsequent period. Donatus. Pomp. 3Ies- 
salinus. 



Marcus Lepidus and Quintus Catulus] They were consuls, a.u.c. 676, just 



FRAGMENTS OP THE HISTORY OF SALLUST. 217 

Cato, the most expressive in style 1 of all the Romans, said 
much in few words. Servius. Acron. 



Nor has the circumstance of being of an opposite party 
in the civil war ever drawn me away from the truth. 
Arusianus. 

The first dissensions 2 among us arose from the depravity 
of the human mind, which, restless and untameable, is 
always engaged in a struggle for liberty, or glory, or power. 
~Priscian. 

The Roman state was at the greatest height of power in 
the consulship of Servius Sulpicius and Marcus IVIarcellus 3 ; 
when all Gaul on this side of the Rhine, and between our 
sea and the ocean, except what marshes rendered impassable, 
was brought under its dominion. But the Romans acted on 
the best moral principles, and with the greatest harmony, in 
the interval between the second and last Carthaginian war. 
Victorbitis. Augustinus. 

But discord 4 , and avarice, and ambition, and other evils 

after the abdication of Sylla. Ausonius mentions them, and alludes, at the same 
time, to the contents of Sallnst's History, in his IVth Idyl, ver. 61 : 

Jam faeinus, Catilina, tnum, Lepidique tumnltum, 

Ab Lepido et Catulo jam res et tempora Romaa 

Orsus, bis senos seriem connecto per annos. 

Jam lego civili mistum Mavorte dnellum, 

Movit quod socio Sertorius exul Ibero. 
1 Expressive in style] Disertissimus. " Sallust had a particular regard for the 
History of Cato, which, in Sallnst's time, had almost ceased to be read. He valued 
himself upon imitating his style, and his obsolete expressions. He found in his 
antique language an energy to which modern polish and accuracy scarcely ever 
attain. This is the quality which we Frenchmen so much regard in our ancient 
authors, as Comines, Amyot, and the incomparable Montaigne, writers who have 
never been surpassed for natural strength and ease of style." De Brosses. 

-The first dissensions, $c.~] " This was the commencement of a preface, in 
which Sallust treated of the manners and condition of the city of Rome, and of 
the form of government, from the foundation of the city. The following frag- 
ments relate to the same subject." Burnonf. 

3 Servius Sulpicius and Marcus Marcellus] A.u.c. 703. 

4 But discord, cf*c.] Compare Jug., c. 41 ; Cat,, c. 10. 



218 SALLTIST. 

that usually spring from prosperity, were most increased 
after Carthage was destroyed. For encroachments of the 
stronger on the weaker, and consequent separations of the 
people from the senate, with other domestic dissensions, had 
existed even from the very origin of the republic ; nor, on 
the expulsion of the kings, were equity and moderation ob- 
served any longer than till the dread of Tarquin, and of a 
fierce war from Etruria, subsided ; after that time, the pa- 
tricians began to tyrannize over the plebeians as over slaves ; 
to scourge and put them to death with authority like that of 
kings; to dispossess them of their lands, and, excluding 
them from the government, to keep it entirely in their own 
hands. The people, being greatly oppressed by these se- 
verities, and especially by the grievance of usury, and having 
also to contribute taxes and service for incessant wars, at 
last took up arms, and posted themselves on the Sacred and 
Aventine Mounts ; on which occasions they secured for them- 
selves the right of electing tribunes, and other privileges. 
To these disputes and contentions the second Punic war 
brought a termination. Augustin. 



"When, after the terror of the Carthaginians was removed, 
the people were at liberty to resume their dissensions, innu- 
merable disturbances, seditions, and subsequent civil wars, 
arose, while a few powerful individuals, whose interest most 
of the other nobles had submitted to promote, sought, under 
the specious pretext of supporting the senate or the ple- 
beians, to secure power for themselves ; and men were es- 
teemed or despised by them, not as they deserved well or 
ill of the republic, (for all were equally corrupt ;) but who- 
ever grew eminently wealthy, and better able to encroach on 
others, was styled, if he supported the present state of affairs, 
an excellent citizen. Prom this period the manners of our 
forefathers degenerated, not, as before, gradually, but with 
precipitation like that of a torrent ; and the youth became 
so depraved with luxury and avarice, that they might be 
thought, with justice, to have been born powerless either to 
preserve their own property, or to suffer others to preserve 
theirs. Gettius. Augustin. 



FEAaMEKTS OF THE HISTOEY OP SALLTJST. 219 

THE SPEECH OF THE CONSUL, MAECUS iEMILITJS LEPIDUS 1 , TO 
THE PEOPLE OF ROME, AGAINST STLLA. 

" Yotje clemency and probity 3 , Romans, for which 

1 Marcus iEmilius Lepidus] " He was the father of Lepidus, the triumvir, of 
the patrician gens JEmilia, the chief families of which were the Lepidi, Pauli, and 
Scauri. This Lepidus was asdile in the seventh consulship of Marius, but after- 
wards went over to the victorious party of Sylla, and was distinguished as one ot 
the most eager in getting possession of the property of the proscribed. He became 
consul-elect in the year 675, supported by Pompey, and opposed by Sylla, who was 
still dictator. But after Sylla resigned the dictatorship, Lepidus applied himself 
to nullify his acts, to revive the party of Marius, and to stir up the children and 
friends of the proscribed ; aspiring, himself, to power similar to that of Sylla, but 
not with Sylla's ability; for he was light-minded, a leader of sedition, cunning 

rather than prudent, and without skill in war De Brosses thinks that 

this speech was spoken by Lepidus, when he was consul-elect, and before he had 
entered on his office, to his own particular adherents, whom he had convened in 
some private place But Douza is of opinion that Lepidus actually ad- 
dressed himself to an assembly of the people after he had assumed the consulship, 
while Sylla was living in a private station after his resignation of the dictatorship, 
but while he yet retained much of his dictatorial power through the influence of 
his party." Burnouf. From the character of the speech itself, the reader will be 
inclined, I think, to pronounce the opinion of De Brosses fanciful, and to agree 
with Douza. The composition of the speech is of course Sallust's own ; though 
the sentiments, or many of them, may have proceeded from Lepidus. 

" It is very difficult to determine at what time the speech was made ; for though 
this may seem to be sufficiently shown by its title and matter, yet it has been sus- 
pected by many that such an oration could not have been publicly pronounced 
while Sylla was alive, even though he might have resigned the dictatorship, but 
must have been addressed to a band of conspirators, in some private place of 
assembly. It is, however, certain that Lepidus, as consul, made the speech to the 
people on the rostra ; for he would not have used the term Quirites except in a 
public address ; nor would he, in the character of consul-elect, which gave him no 
power or authority, have offered himself as a leader to the people for the recovery 
of their liberty. But, it may be said, there are many expressions in the speech which 
seem to prove that Sylla, at the time of its delivery, still held the dictatorship. . . . 
Appius and Orosius intimate that Sylla ceased to be dictator A. u.c. 674, when he 
himself was consul with Metellus Pius, or the year after, when Servilius and 
Claudius were consuls. See Appian, De Bell. Civ. i., 103 ; Oros. v., 22. And from 
Plutarch, Syll. c. 34, we may understand that the abdication took place a.u.c. 675. 
.... The agreement of these writers, though they are of no great authority indivi- 
dually, induces me to believe that Sylla resigned his office the year before Lepidus and 
Catulus were consuls. But the resignation appears to me no matter of wonder ; and, 
indeed, the writers of those days regarded it as a mere display of arrogance ; for 
though he abdicated the name of dictator, he gave up nothing of his dictatorial power, 
except what he might lose by devoting himself to pleasure and luxury In- 
deed, the power of Sylla depended not so much on his office of dictator, as on the 
laws which he had made, and on a party of the nobility who supported him." Gerlach. 

2 Your clemency and probity, ^c] Clementia etprobitas vestra, $c. Burnouf 



220 



SALLUST. 



you are eminent and renowned among other nations, excite 
in me the greatest apprehensions against the tyranny ot 
Sylla, lest, either by disbelieving concerning others what 
you yourselves think nefarious, you should allow imposition 
to be practised upon you, (especially since all his hopes de- 
pend on dishonesty and perfidy, nor does he otherwise deem 
himself safe, than by becoming more abandoned and infa- 
mous 1 than even your fears can forebode, so that, when you 
are thoroughly made subject to him, your sufferings may 
suppress in you all care of recovering your liberty ;) or lest, 
if you foresee his machinations, you should occupy your 
thoughts rather in guarding against them than in taking 
revenge for them. 

" His satellites, men of the highest name, and with the 
noblest examples of their forefathers for their imitation, 
sacrifice their own freedom (I cannot sufficiently wonder at 
their conduct) as a price for the power of domineering over 
you, and prefer slavery and tyranny without laws, to liberty 
under the best laws. Illustrious descendants of the Bruti, 
iEmilii, and Lutatii, born to overthrow what the virtue of 
their ancestors established ! Eor what was it that was de- 
fended against Pyrrhus, and Hannibal, and Philip 2 , and 
Antiochus, but liberty, and the security of our homes 3 , and 
obedience to nothing but the laws ? But all these privileges 
this cruel Eomulus 4 withholds from us, as spoils torn from 
foreign enemies ; nor is he satiated with the destruction of 
so many armies, of a consul 5 , and of other eminent men 

observes that this exordium is an imitation of that of the Corinthians to the Lacedae- 
monians, Thucyd. i., 68: To tticttov, vfias, o) AaK€dciL[j,6vioi, tj'c. " The trus- 
tiness and policy of your intercourse amongst yourselves, Lacedaemonians, renders 
you the moi-e distrustful with regard to others, if we say anything against them ; 
and from this you have a character for sober-mindedness, but betray too great 
ignorance with regard to foreign affairs." Dale's Translation: Bonn's CI. Li- 
brary. 

1 Infamous] Intestalilioi\ See Jug., c. 67. 

2 Philip] King of Macedonia. 

3 Security of our homes] Slice cuique sedes. 

4 This cruel Romulus] Scevus iste Romulus. He thus designates Sylla, as 
being, like Romulus, bent upon maintaining his power by violence. But the term 
would have been more applicable to him before he resigned his dictatorship. 

5 Of a consul] Consults. " He seems to speak of the younger Marius." Cris- 
pinus. Gerlach observes that three consuls, Carbo, Marius, and Norbanus, were 
killed in the civil war, and thinks that the reading consilium, which is in some 
copies, ought to be adopted. 



FEAGMEXTS OF THE HISTORY OF SALLVST. 221 

whom the fortune of war has sunk in death, but grows still 
more bloodthirsty at a time when victory converts the fury 
of most commanders into compassion. He is the only one, 
in the memory of man, that has appointed punishments 
for children yet unborn 1 , to whom suffering is insured before 
life. He revels in his atrocities, defended as yet by the 
enormity of his crimes ; whilst you, through dread of heavier 
servitude, are deterred from making an effort to recover your 
liberty. 

" Such despotism, my fellow- citizens, you must exert your- 
selves to oppose, that your spoils may not remain in the 
hands of the oppressor ; you must not delay, or think of 
trusting for relief to prayers ; unless, perchance, you expect 
that, growing at length tired or ashamed of his tyranny, he 
will venture on the greater hazard 2 of resigning what he has 
unjustly usurped. But he has proceeded to such a point, 
that he thinks no conduct glorious but suck as conduces to 
his safely, and deems everything laudable that assists to pre- 
serve his power. That peace and tranquillity, therefore, 
which, with the enjoyment of liberty, many good men have 
sought in preference to toil with honours, it is in vain for 
you to expect ; you must either be slaves or rulers, my 
fellow-citizens ; you must either be subjects of terror or 
objects of it. For what else is left to you ? "What human 
objects of desire remain ? Or does anything divine con- 
tinue inviolate ? The people of Some, lately the lords of 
other nations, but now deprived of empire, dignity, and 
authority, and rendered helpless and despicable, find not even 
left to them the allowance made to slaves. The vast multi- 
tude of the allies and Latins 3 , whom you presented with the 
civic franchise for their many honourable services, are ex- 
cluded from it by the will of a single individual ; whose small 

1 For children yet unborn] In post futures. The children of the proscribed. 
See note on Cat., c. 37. 

- On the greater hazard] Periculosius. Thus Pericles says to the Athenians, 
respecting their sovereignty over their dependents, u You now hold it as a 
tyranny, which it seems wrong to have assumed, but dangerous to give up."' 
Thucyd. ii., 63. From this expression, and from the following sentence, most 
readers would surely be inclined to conclude that Sylla was still actually dictator. 

3 Allies and Latins] " To lessen the number of citizens, Sylla took away from 
the allies and Latins the right of citizenship, which they had obtained by the 
Social War." Burnouf. 



222 SALLTJST. 

band of satellites have seized, as the rewards of their villa- 
nies, the patrimonial lands of the innocent commonalty. The 
laws, the administration of justice, the treasury, the pro- 
vinces, tributary princes, are all under the direction of one 
man. Tou have seen even human sacrifices 1 offered by him, 
and tombs dyed with the blood of Eoman citizens. And is 
anything left, then, for those who would act as men, but to 
put an end to such injustice, or to die honourably in attempt- 
ing it ? For nature has appointed one end to all men, even 
though encased in steel ; nor will any one, unless he has but 
the heart of a woman, await the last necessity without an 
effort. 

" But I, according to Sylla's representations, am a promoter 
of sedition, because I complain of the rewards obtained by civil 
commotions ; and a lover of war, because I seek to recover the 
privileges of peace. To make such a charge, is to say that you 
cannot be safe or secure under his government, unless Vettius 
Picens 3 , and Cornelius the accountant 3 , be allowed to squan- 
der what others have honourably acquired, and unless you 
approve of all the proscriptions of the innocent for the sake 
of their wealth, of the torturing of illustrious citizens, of the 
depopulation of the city by banishment and slaughter, and 
of the practice of selling or giving away, like spoils taken 
from the Cimbri, the possessions of your unfortunate coun- 
trymen. He, however, objects to me further, that I have 
myself a share in the property of those proscribed ; but that 
I have such a share is the very greatest proof of his tyranny, 

1 Human sacrifices] Humanas hostias. " He refers to those who were killed at 
the tombs of the followers of Sylla, that their shades might not wander un- 
revenged, as Luean says of Crassus ; but he seems to refer especially to the sad 
end of Marius Gratidianus, who was sacrificed at the sepulchre of the Lutatian 
gens. Val. Max. ix., 20; Sen. de Ira in., 18; Floras hi., 21." Cortius, Cati- 
line was a great instrument in this butchery ; see note on Cat., c. 5. 

2 Vettius Picens] "An obscure man, doubtless; but he seems to be the same 
from whom Cicero bought the villa of Catulus ; and whom, ad Att. vi., 1, he calls 
manceps, and Pro Coel. 30, stuprator Clodice. Comp. in Vatin. 10, and ad 
Att. iii., 24." Gerlach. 

3 Cornelius the accountant] Scriba Cornelius. " Cornelius Chrysogonus, the 
freedman of Sylla, of whom Cicero says so much in his speech for Rose. Amer. He 
had been a scriba, that is, he had taken account, by order of Sylla, of the prices 
given or offered at the sale of the property of those proscribed. De Brosses thinks 
that it is he who is meant in Cic. de Off. ii., 8: Alter qui in ed dictaturd scriba 
fuerat, in hac [Ca3saris]/mY qu&stor urbanus." Burnouf. 



FRAGMENTS OF THE HISTOET OE SALLTJST. 223 

since neither I, nor any one of us all, would have been safe 
from his vengeance if we had strictly adhered to honesty. 
Tet that very property, which I then bought under the in- 
fluence of terror, I am ready to restore, on repayment of the 
purchase-money, to the rightful owners 1 ; as it is not my 
design to sanction the spoliation of my fellow-citizens. Let 
the sufferings be sufficient which have resulted from the in- 
dulgence of our angry passions, from allowing Roman armies 
to encounter each other, and from turning our arms from our 
enemies against ourselves. Let there be an end of injustice 
and outrage ; of which, however, Sylla himself is so far from re- 
penting, that he glories in the perpetration of it, and would 
pursue it with greater avidity if he had greater power. 

" But I am not so much concerned about the opinion which 
you may have of his character, as about the courage which you 
may feel to oppose him. I am apprehensive lest, while each 
waits for his neighbour to begin to act, you should all be abso- 
lutely reduced to subjection (not indeed by his power, which 
is weakened and impaired, but by your own indolence) before 
you can proceed against him, and before he can venture to 
natter himself with the hopes of such success 2 . For, except 
his corrupt partisans, who joins in approving his proceed- 
ings ? Or who does not wish that every part of his course had 
been of a different character, except his victory 3 ? Do the 

1 I am ready to restore, on repayment of the purchase-money, to the rightful 
owners] Pretio soluto,jure dominis tamen restituo. The sense of these words 
may be altered, in some degree, by the mode in which an editor may think proper 
to point them; for "he may join," as Gerlach observes, " pretio soluto, or soluto 
jure, and, as some think, jure dominis" I have followed Cortius, Wasse, and 
Burnouf, who take the last method, considering jure domi?iis to be for justis 
dominis; though I do not think it at all certain that Sallust intended such a 
junction. But in whatever way the words be taken, the variation in the sense 
will be of no extraordinary importance. 

2 And before he can venture to flatter himself with the hopes of such success] 
Et (ante) quam aiideat tarn videri felicem. These words are somewhat obscure, 
as all the commentators have remarked. Gerlach, who calls the accusative 
durissimum, interprets them (ante) quam audeat sperare tantam felicitatem. 
The construction must be, if the text be correct, antequam audeat videri sibi (se 
fore, or se posse esse) tarn felicem ; " before he can venture to represent himself 
to himself as being (likely to be) so fortunate." There is an allusion to Sylla's 
assumption of the title Felix. See Jug., c. 95. 

3 Except his victory] Procter victoriam. " He means that the victory of 
Sylla was good, and might have given full freedom to the commonwealth; but 



224 SALLUST. 

soldiers, by whose blood wealth has been gained for Tarrula 
and Scyrrus, the worst of slaves ? Or do those, to whom, in 
competition for office, Fufidius, a disgrace to his sex 1 , and a 
dishonour to every magistracy, was preferred ? To the vic- 
torious army, accordingly, I look for the strongest support, by 
whom, through so many sufferings and hardships, nothing has 
been gained but an oppressor; unless we suppose, indeed, that 
they took the field purposely to destroy the tribunicial power 
which was established by their ancestors, or to divest them- 
selves of their own privileges and right of judicature 2 . 
Grlorious, in truth, was their recompense, when, banished to 
woods and marshes, they found reproach and hatred their 
own portion, and saw the spoils of conquest in the hands of 
an oligarchy ! 

" How is it, then, that he presents himself before us with 
such a train of followers, and with such audacity ? Because 
success throws a wonderful veil over vice ; (though, should for- 
tune fail him, he will be as much despised as he is now dreaded ;) 
unless, perchance, he seeks to delude you with a prospect of 
concord and peace, names which he himself has given to his 
wickedness and treachery, saying that Borne can never have 
an end of war, unless the commonalty continue expelled 
from their lands (a calamitous prey of civil war), and the 
power and judicial authority in all matters, which once be- 
longed to the Soman people, be vested in himself alone. If 
such an arrangement be thought peace and concord, give 
your approval, I pray you, to the most extravagant disturb- 
ances and alterations of the state ; grant your sanction to 
the laws which are imposed upon you ; accept tranquillity 
and servitude ; and afford an example to posterity for en- 
slaving the people of Rome by the hire of their own 
blood 3 . 

that the abuse of it, and the establishment of a tyranny by it, was the grievance, 
as appears from what follows." Cooke. 

1 A disgrace to his sex] Ancilla turpis. " He calls him ancilla, to throw the 
utmost contempt on him. So Cic. ad Att. i., 14: Totus ille grex Catiluice, duce 

jillold Curionis, for JHio ; on which passage see Popma." Cor tins. 

2 Privileges and right of judicature] Jura etjudicia. " Sylla had transferred 
the judicia, or right of being judices, from the equites to the senators." Bumouf. 

3 By the hire of their own blood] Suimet sanguinis mwcede. Some copies 
have suimet sanguinis cwde, which Wasse, I believe, is the only editor that has 
been found to defend; he takes sanguinis in the sense of "relatives." The 



FBAGMEFTS Or THE EISTOEY OE SALLTTST. 225 

" For myself, although, by my elevation to this high office 1 , 
enough has been attained for the name of my ancestors, for 
my own dignity, and even for my personal protection, it was 
never my design to pursue merely my own interests. Liberty 
gained with peril appears to me more desirable than indolent 
servitude. And if you, my fellow-citizens, approve of this 
sentiment, give me your support, and, relying on the gra- 
cious assistance of the gods, follow your consul, Marcus 
iEmilius, as your leader and guide to the recovery of your 
■ freedom." 

THE SPEECH OE LTJCIIJS PHILIPPUS 2 AGAINST MABCTJS 
J^MILIUS LEPIDTJS. 

" I could wish, beyond all things, Conscript Fathers, that 
the state should be at peace, or that, if it be in danger, it 
should be defended by its ablest citizens ; and that mis- 
chievous plots should prove the ruin of their contrivers. 
But, on the contrary, everything is disordered by factious 
disturbances ; disturbances excited by those whom it would 
better become to suppress them. What the worst and 

Koman people had shed their own blood to establish a tyranny over themselves. 
Gerlach compares Tacit. Agric. 30: Britannia servitutem suam quotidie e?nit, 
quotidie pascit. 

1 This high office] Hoc summum imperium. The consulship. 

2 Philippus] U Lucius Marcius Philippus, who had been consul a.tj.c. 663, 
and in whose consulate Crassus the Orator died. See Cic. Orat. iii., 1. This 
speech was not delivered immediately after that of Lepidus. But Catulus, the 
colleague of Lepidus, being adverse to his views, and raising vehement opposition 
to them, the senate ordered them to set out to their respective provinces (that of 
Catulus being Italy, and that of Lepidus, Gallia Cisalpina), having previously 
bound them by an oath not to make war on each other. Lepidus, notwithstand- 
ing, having collected the remains of the Marian party in Etruria, and having 
inspired numbers of people in those parts with the hope of recovering the fran- 
chise, of which they had been deprived by Svlla, advanced upon the city with a 
large army, and encamped near the Milvian bridge. From this position he was 
driven by Catulus and Cneius Pompey, but found means to recruit his forces in 
Etruria, and began to threaten Ptome with a new war, and to demand for himself 
a second consulship. It was at this crisis that Philippus endeavoured to rouse the 
senate, which was deficient in spirit, and disposed to mild measures, with the 
following speech. A decree of the senate was made in accordance with his sug- 
gestions, and Catulus, with the authority of pro-consul, attacked Lepidus in 
Etruria, routed him several times, and compelled him at last to take refuge in 
Sardinia, where he fell a victim to disease." Bunwuf, 

Q 



226 SALLTJST. 

weakest, moreover, have resolved, is to be executed by the 
good and wise. For war, though adverse to your inclina- 
tions, is to be undertaken by us because it pleases Lepidus ; 
unless any of us, perchance, choose to secure hiin peace 1 on 
our part, and to suffer hostilities on his. 

" Just heaven ! ye, who yet rule this city 2 , but take no 
thought for its interests, see that Lepidus, the worst of all 
infamous characters, of whom it cannot be decided whether 
his wickedness or baseness is the greater, heads an army for 
oppressing our liberties, and from being contemptible has 
made himself formidable ; while you, whispering and shrink- 
ing back, influenced by words 3 and the predictions of augurs, 
desire peace rather than maintain it, being insensible that, by 
the weakness of your resolutions, you lessen at once your 
own dignity and his fears. And this is a natural conse- 
quence, when, by plunder 4 , he has gained from you a con- 
sulship, and, by his factious proceedings, a province with an 
army. "What would he have received for good deeds, when 
you have bestowed such rewards on his villanies ? 

" But, you will say, those who have to the last voted for 
sending deputies, for peace, concord, and other things of 

1 To secure him peace, $c.~] Pacem prwstare et helium pati. " Nisi quis velit 
pacem Lepido praestare, et ab illo bellum pati." Burnouf. "Pacem habere et 
alteri exhibere; sed quos Lepidus pro hostibus habebit." Cortius. 

2 Just heaven ! ye, who yet rule this city, $c.~\ Pro dii boni! qui hanc urbem, 
omissd curd, adhuc regitis. " The qui refers, not to the gods, but to the senators 
whom Philippus was addressing." Wasse. This seems to be the only right mode 
of interpretation, though Wasse afterwards changed his mind, and derided Crispinus 
for having been of the same opinion as himself. Certainly, as Gerlach observes, 
the expression omissd curd cannot with any propriety be referred to the gods ; 
for the government of the gods consists in care, and if they ceased to have any 
care, they would cease to have any government; though to men the words 
regitis and omissd curd may be equally applicable, in the sense which I have given 
to them in the text. Dureau Delamalle and De Brosses also refer omissd curd to 
the senators. And this mode of taking the passage is supported by what follows : 
vos mussantes et retractantes, $c., which is but a continuation of the address to 
the senate. 

3 By words] Verbis. " Verbis est propter verba, h. e. augurum responsa et 
vatum carmina, h. e. libros Sibyllinos." Cortius. 

4 By plunder, #c] Ex rapinis consulatum. " Lepidus, when he was praetor 
in Sicily, had so plundered that province, that Cicero, in making one of his strong 
charges against Verres, says that he did what he could not have justified even by 
the example of Lepidus." Burnouf. 



FRAGMENTS OP THE HISTOBX OE SALLUST. 227 

the kind, have obtained favour from him. On the contrary, 
they were held in contempt, thought unworthy of any share 
in the administration, and fit only to he the prey of others, as 
persons who sue for peace with the same weakness with 
which they lost it when it was in their possession. For my- 
self, when, at the very first, I saw Etruria conspiring with 
him, the proscribed called to his support, and the republic 
rent into factions by his bribes, I thought that no time was 
to be lost, and accordingly followed, with a few others, the 
measures of Catulus. But that party, who extolled the ser- 
vices of the iEmilian family towards the state, and said that 
the greatness of the Romans had been increased 1 by lenity, 
could not then perceive that Lepidus had done any t lung ex- 
traordinary ; and even when he had taken up arms without 
your authority, and for the destruction of your liberty, each 
of them, by seeking wealth and patronage for himself, weak- 
ened the public counsels. At that time, however, Lepidus 
was merely a marauder, at the head of a few camp-followers 
and cut-throats, each of whom would have perilled his life 
for a day's wages ; now he is a pro-consul with full authority, 
— an authority not bought, but conferred on him by your- 
selves, and with officers still obliged by law to obey him ; 
while there have flocked to his standard the most profligate 
characters of all ranks ; men who are turbulent from distress 
and cupidity, and harassed with the consciousness of crimes ; 
who are at ease in broils, and restless in peace ; who excite 
tumult after tumult, and war after war ; and who were first 
the followers of Saturninus, then of Sulpicius, next of Marius 
and Damasippus 2 , and have now become the instruments of 
Lepidus. Etruria, moreover, is in insurrection ; all the re- 
mains of the last war are resuscitated ; the Spains are soli- 
cited to take arms ; Mithridates, on the very frontier of our 
tributaries that yet support us, is watching an opportunity to 
commence hostilities ; and nothing, but a proper leader 3 , is 
wanting to subvert our government. I therefore intreat and 
conjure you, Conscript Eathers, to give your serious atten- 

1 Had been increased] Au:cisse. For auodsse se, or auctam esse. Cato, in 
Aul. Gell. xviii., 12 says eb res eorum aitxit. 

% Damasippus] See Cat., c. 51. 

3 A proper leader] Idoneum ducem. " A sneer at the incompetency of Le- 
pidus." Burnouf. 

«2 



228 SALLUST. 






tion to the matter, and cot to suffer the unbridled influence 
of corruption, like the ravages of a disease, to spread by con- 
tact to the uninfected. For when honours are heaped on 
the unprincipled, scarcely will any one maintain an integrity 
which is unrewarded. Or are you waiting, till, having 
again 1 brought his army upon you, he attacks the city with 
fire and sword ? — a step which is at much less distance from 
his present assumptions than was that from peace and con- 
cord to civil war ; a war which he commenced in defiance of 
every obligation, human and divine ; not to redress his own 
grievances, or those of the persons whose cause he pretends 
to vindicate, but to subvert our laws and our liberty. For 
he is disquieted and harassed with raging desires, and terror 
for his crimes ; he is undecided and restless, pursuing some- 
times one scheme and sometimes another ; dreading peace, 
and hating war ; feeling that he must abstain from luxury 
and licentiousness, yet taking advantage meantime of your 
inactivity, inactivity which I do not know whether I should 
not rather call fear, or pusillanimity, or infatuation; for 
while you see peril threatening you like a thunderbolt, you 
merely wish, each for himself, that it may not fall upon you, 
but without making the least effort to prevent it. 

" Consider, I pray you, how the temper of the times is 
changed from what it was. Formerly, designs against the 
commonwealth were conducted secretly, and measures for 
its defence with openness, and thus the loveis of their coun- 
try had an easy advantage over incendiaries ; now, peace and 
concord are publicly impugned, and supported only by plans 
concerted in secrete Those who espouse a bad cause, show 
themselves in arms ; you, Conscript Fathers, shrink back in 
terror. But for what do you wait, unless you are ashamed 
or unwilling to act as becomes you ? Do the declarations 2 
of Lepidus influence you ? — of Lepidus, who says that each 
should have his own, and yet retains the property of others ; 
who exclaims that laws established by arms 3 should be abro- 

1 Again] Rursus. He had previously advanced to the Milvian bridge. See the 
first note on this speech. 

2 Declarations] Mandata. " Lepidus might previously have sent deputies to 
the senate and people with some statements or declarations." Cortius. " Pro- 
bably to treat about the abrogation of Sylla's laws." Gerlach. 

s Laws established by arms] Belli jura. " Laws which Sylla had imposed on 
the Romans, after his victory." Burnouf. 



FRAGMENTS OF THE HISTORY OF 8ALLUST. 229 

gated, and jet seeks to bring ns under his yoke by a civil 
war ; who asserts that the civic franchise should be restored 
to those from whom he denies that it has been taken ; and 
who insists, for the sake of concord, on the re- establishment 
of the tribunitial power, by which all our discords have been 
inflamed. O most abandoned and shameless of men ! Are 
the distresses and troubles of the citizens become objects of 
thy care, who hast nothing in thy possession but what has 
been obtained by violence and injustice ? Thou demandest 
- a second consulship, as if thou hadst resigned the first ; thou 
seekest a pretended peace, by means of a war that breaks the 
real peace 1 which we enjoyed ; thou art a traitor to us, a de- 
ceiver of thy party, and the enemy of all honest men ! Hast 
thou no shame, before either gods or men, both of whom 
thou hast offended by thy perfidies and perjuries? But, 
since thou art what thou art, I exhort thee to persist in thy 
course, and to keep thy arms in thy hands ; and do not make 
thyself uneasy, and keep us in suspense, by delaying thy 
traitorous purposes. Neither our provinces, nor our laws, 
nor our household gods, endure thee as a citizen. Proceed, 
then, as thou hast begun, that thou mayst as soon as pos- 
sible meet thy deserts ! 

" But you, Conscript Fathers, how long will you keep 
the republic in insecurity by your delays, and meet arms only 
with words 2 ? Forces are levied against you ; money is 
raised, publicly and privately, by extortion ; troops are led 
out, and placed in garrisons 3 ; the laws are under arbitrary 
and capricious management ; and yet you, meanwhile, think 
only of sending deputies and preparing resolutions. But, be 
assured, the more earnestly you apply for peace, the more 
vigorously will war be urged against you, as your enemy will 
find himself better supported by your fears than by the 
justice and goodness of his cause. For whoever professes a 
hatred of civil broils, and of the effusion of Roman blood, and 

1 That breaks the real peace, ij-c] Quo parta (sc. pax) disturbatur. 

2 Meet arms only with words] Verbis arma tentabitis. " Ad versus Lepidi 
arma verbis tantum pugnabitis." Burnouf. " Ne vous lassez-vous point de n'op- 
poser aux armes que de vaines paroles ?" De Brosses. 

3 Troops are led out, and placed in garrisons] Prcesidia deducta atqiie imposita, 
u Cortius leaves- it doubtful whether the sense is deducta sunt alia prcesidia ex 
urbibus, alia imposita; or, deducta in urbes et imposita prcesidia. De Brosses and 
Dureau Delamalle preferred the former interpretation." Burnouf. I have adopted 
the latter. 



230 SALLUST. 

keeps you, for that reason, defenceless, while Lepidus is in 
arms, recommends you to submit to the treatment which the 
vanquished must endure, when you yourselves might inflict 
it on others. Such counsellors advise peace on your part 
towards him, and war on his towards you. If exhortations 
of this nature please you, if such insensibility has taken pos- 
session of your breasts, that, forgetful of the crimes of Cinna, 
by whose return into the city all the dignity of your order 
was trampled in the dust, you will nevertheless put yourselves, 
your wives and children, into the power of Lepidus, what 
need is there of resolutions, or what is the use of the aid of 
Catulus ? He, and all other honest men, concern themselves 
for the state in vain. But act as you please; the bands 
of Cethegus 1 , and of other traitors, stand ready for you, 
eager to renew their ravages and burnings, and to arm their 
hands afresh against our household gods. If liberty and 
honour 2 , however, have more attractions for you, decide on 
what is worthy of the name of Rome, and stimulate the 
courage of your valiant supporters. A new army is at your 
devotion, with colonies of veterans 3 , all the nobility, and the 
most able commanders. Fortune follows the braver side; 
and the force which the enemy has collected through our re- 
missness, will dwindle away when we begin to exert ourselves. 
" My opinion therefore is, that since Lepidus is advancing 
with an army, raised on his own responsibility, in concert 
with the worst enemies of the commonwealth, and in defiance 
of the authority of the senate, to the gates of the city, Appius 
Claudius the interrex 4 , Quintus Catulus the pro-consul, and 
others who are in authority, be directed to guard the city, 

and TO MAKE IT THEIE CAKE THAT THE EEPTJBLIC BECEIYE 
1*0 INJURY 5 ." 

1 Cethegus] " Cams Cethegus, who was afterwards one of Catiline's accom- 
plices. See Cat., c. 17." Burnouf 

2 Liberty and honour] Libertas et vera. " Vera, i. e. justum, rectum.' 1 
Gerlach. Cortius and Burnouf also read vera; Havercamp and others have 
bella, which makes very good sense, and to which the strongest objection that 
can be made is that Sallust, or Lepidus, was more likely to use the singular. 

3 Colonies of veterans] Colonice veterum mUitum. " Old soldiers from the colo- 
nies of Sylla." Burnouf. 

4 Appius Claudius the interrex] " This speech was delivered A.u.c. 677, about 
the end of January, when, as the consuls for the year were not yet created, 
Appius Claudius was interrex." Burnouf. 

5 That the republic receive no injury] See Cat., c. 29. 



FRAGMENTS OF THE HISTORY OE SALLT7ST. 231 



FROM THE SECOND BOOK. 

A Ligurian woman, named Corsa 1 , observing that a bull 
in a herd which she was tending on the coast, was accustomed 
to swim over the water, and to return from time to time with 
an increase of flesh, and desiring to learn on what unknown 
pasture he fed, followed the animal, the next time that he 
left the other cattle, in a boat to the island. On her return, 
. the Ligurians, being informed of the extraordinary fertility 
of the isle, went over to it in boats, and called it by the name 
of the woman who discovered and guided them to it. Isidore, 
xiv., 6. 



Metellus 2 , after a year's absence, having returned into 
Further Spain, was followed, with great honour, by a con- 
course 3 of people of both sexes, flocking together from all parts, 
and collecting along the roads and on the house-tops. His 
quaestor, Caius Urbinus, and others who knew his disposition, 
invited him to a banquet, and entertained him with a splen- 
dour exceeding that of the Eomans or any other people, 
adorning the house with tapestries, ensigns, and scenes suited 
to the gorgeousness of a theatre ; the ground being sprinkled 
with saffron 4 , and other ceremonies being used as in a much- 
frequented temple. As he was sitting, too, an image of 
Victory, let down by a rope, with a noise made to imitate 
thunder, placed a crown upon his head ; and, as he moved 
about, frankincense was offered to him as to a deity. His 
dress, as he reclined at the table, was mostly a figured toga ; 

1 Corsa] " This story is noticed by Stephanus: Corsis, says he, is an island in 
the Tyrrhenian sea, named from Corsa, a female slave who tended cattle ; it is 
also called Corsica.' 11 Colerus. The usual Greek name for it was Kvpvos, Cyrnus. 

2 Metellus] "Metellus Pius, who had carried on the war against Sertorius. 
He was the son of Metellus Numidicus." Burnouf 

3 With great honour, by a concourse] Magna gloria concurrentium undique. 
Gerlach takes gloria in the sense of gloriatio, laudatio. Thus it will be, " with 
the great honour or praise of a concourse." 

4 Sprinkled with saffron] Croco sparsa. They used a mixture of saffron and 
wine for the purpose. Comp. Prop, iv., 6, 74; Hor. Ep. ii., 1, 79; Stat. Silv. ii., 
1, 160; Spartian. Adr., c. 19; Lucret. ii., 416. Plin. H. N. xxi., 6: Crocum 
vino mire congruit, prcecipue dulci ; tritum ad theatra replenda. 



232 SALLTTST. 

the most exquisite dainties were set before him ; for several 
varieties of birds and other animals, previously unknown, 
had not only been collected throughout the province, but 
brought over the sea from Mauretania, for the occasion. 
But by such indulgences he lost something of his glory, 
especially in the opinion of the older and more austere, who 
regarded them as savouring of pride and presumption, and 
unsuitable to the dignity of the Roman empire. Macrob. 
Sat. ii. 9. Nonius. Sosipater, 1. i. 



FROM THE THIRD BOOK 
LETTER OF POMPET 1 *TO THE SENATE. 

Had I as often engaged in toils and dangers, Conscript 
Fathers, against you, my country, and our household gods, 
as, under my leadership, from my earliest youth, your most 
desperate enemies have been defeated, and your tranquillity 
secured, you could have decided on nothing more severe than 
you now determine against me, whom, after exposing me, at 
an earlier age than usual 2 , to a most arduous war, you com- 

3 Letter of Pompey] " In the consulship of Cotta and Octavius, A.u.c. 679, 
the unfavourableness of the weather, and the depredations of pirates, had caused 
a great scarcity of corn at Rome ; and the money which had been raised to supply 
Metellus for the Spanish war (see Sail. Fragm. Incert. lib., Pecunia quae ad 
Eispaniense bellim, cfc.), was necessarily expended in procuring provisions for 
the city. Nor was Pompey, who was at the head of another army in Spain, suffi- 
ciently assisted from home ; while, in that part of the country which he occupied, 
the crop of corn, during the last two years, had been but small. In the following 
year, accordingly, the army was greatly in want of provisions, as well as of 
money. Pompey, having in vain solicited supplies, by frequent letters and mes- 
sages, from the senate, at length wrote this angry epistle, in which he threatens, 
in no very obscure terms, to return to Italy with his army. The people were 
accordingly seized with great alarm, dreading that Sertorius might follow Pompey, 
or even anticipate him. Lucullus, too, was afraid that Pompey would snatch 
from him the command of the Mithridatic war, which Pompey, indeed, greatly 
desired to have, as being superior to that which he held. The senate were there- 
fore induced to send the requisite supplies. This happened two years before the 
end of the Sertorian war." Burnouf. 

2 At an earlier age than usual] Contra wtatem. , u He was deputed to the 
command of the Sertorian war at the age of twenty-eight, in the character of 
pro-consul, though he had not before held any civil office. De Brosses, who says 
(ii., 23) that he was only twenty-three, is in error." Burn&uf. 



FEAGMEIS'TS OP THE HISTORY OF SALLHST. 233 

pel, as far as is in your power, (together with an army that 
has done you honourable service,) to perish of hunger, the 
most wretched of all deaths. "Was it with such expectations 
that the people of Eome sent their sons into the field ? Is 
such the recompense given for wounds, and for so much 
blood shed in defence of the state ? "Weary with writing 
and sending messengers to you, I have exhausted the 
whole of my private fortune and expectations, while, during 
the last three years I have scarcely received from you pay 
' sufficient for one. What, in the name of the immortal 
gods, do you think of me ? Do you suppose that my own 
resources are equal to an exchequer, or that I can support an 
army without provisions and money ? I indeed allow that I 
set out for this war with more zeal than judgment, having, in 
forty days after I received from you the title of general, 
assembled an army, and driven the enemy, who were then 
pressing upon the frontiers of Italy, from the Alps into 
Spain. Over those mountains I opened a passage different 
from that of Hannibal, and more convenient for us. I re- 
covered Gaul, the Pyrenees, Laletania 1 , the Ilergetes 2 , and 
withstood the first attack of the conquering Sertorius with 
newly-raised troops and inferior numbers ; and I passed the 
winter, not in the towns, or so as to gratify my soldiers for 
the sake of popularity 3 , but in the midst of the fiercest ene- 
mies. Need I recount the battles which I have fought, the 
expeditions which I have undertaken in the winter, the 
towns which I have destroyed or recovered ? Actions speak 
sufficiently for themselves, without the aid of words. The 

1 Laletania] Laletaniam. This is the reading adopted by Cortius, Burnouf, 
De Brosses, and Gerlach. Laletania was a district of Spain, between the Iberus 
and the Pyrenees. Havercamp reads Lacetaniam, which lay in the same part of 
Spain, a little further from the coast. 

2 The Ilergetes] I read Ilergetes, with De Brosses ; Havercamp has Ilergetum ; 
Cortius, Burnouf, and Gerlach, read Indigetes ; but the Ilergetes, a more con- 

- . siderable people, bordering on both the Lacetani and Laletani, seem much more 
likely to have been mentioned by Pompey. Carrio indeed notices that Pliny, 
H. N. iii., 3, has Laletani et Indigetes; but this proves nothing. The Indigetes 
or Indicetse are placed by geographers on the coast of the Mediterranean, at the 
foot of the Pyrenees, their chief town being Emporium or Emporiae. 

3 For the sake of popularity] Ex amhitione mea. " Neque ita ut, per am- 
bitionem, milites indulgentius haberem. Ambitionem vero intellige militaris 
gratiag captationem, ut in Jug., c. 45." Burnouf. 



234 SALLUST. 

capture of the adversary's camp at Sucro, the battle at the 
river Durius 1 , the slaughter of Herennius the enemy's 
general, with the destruction of his army and the city of 
Valentia, are sufficiently known to you. For these services, 
grateful Fathers, you recompense me with want of money 
and want of food. The condition of my army, and that of 
the enemy, are consequently similar. Pay is given to neither; 
and both might march unopposed 2 into Italy ; of which cir- 
cumstance I warn you, and entreat you to consider of it, and 
not to oblige me to provide for my necessities on my own 
responsibility. That portion of Hither Spain, which is not 
in possession of the enemy, we or Sertorius have utterly de- 
solated, except the cities on the coast ; but these are a posi- 
tive charge and burden upon us. Gaul, during the last year, 
supplied the army of Metellus with pay and provisions, but 
now, from the badness of the crops, can scarcely support 
itself. For my own part, I have exhausted not only my 
private property, but my credit. To you alone, Conscript 
Fathers, can we apply; and, unless you relieve us, the; army, 
and the whole Spanish war with it, will transfer itself against 
my will, but not without forewarning to yourselves, from hence 
into Italy. 



SPEECH OE MACER LICISTTTS 3 , TRIBUNE OF THE PEOPLE, TO 
THE ROMANS. 

" If you did not know the difference, my fellow-countrymen, 

1 Durius] " Pompey's statement would seem to refer to the river Turia, not 
the Durius. Our author, in a fragment of the second book, says Inter Iceva 
montium et dextrum flumen Turiam, quod Valentiam parvo intervallo prceter- 
fluit. Plinius, however, calls the same river Jurius." Cortius. De Brosses agrees 
with Cortius. The Turia is now called the Guadalaviar. 

2 Unopposed] Victor. " The army of Pompey, victorious in the field, might be 
driven from Spain by famine ; that of Sertorius, though conquered, might then 
enter Italy with as little opposition as if it had been victorious." Burnouf. 

3 Speech of Macer Licinius] " It is to be remembered that almost all power had 
been taken from the tribunes of the people by Sylla. The consul Lepidus was the 
first that subsequently endeavoured to re-establish it; afterwards, A.u.c. 678, 
Sicinius, one of the tribunes themselves, made a similar effort, but was successfully 
opposed by the consul C. Scribonius Curio. In the following year C. Aurelius 
Cotta, one of the consuls, restored to the tribunes the right of holding other offices 
after the tribunate. In a.u.c. 680 the tribune Quinctius made an attempt to 
recover the whole of their privileges, but was defeated. At last, in the consulship 



PBAOMENTS OF THE HISTORY OF SALLUST. 235 

between the rights transmitted to you from your ancestors, 
and the servitude intended for you by Sylla, it would be neces- 
sary for me to enter on a long dissertation on the subject, and 
to show for what grievances, and on what occasions, the people 
of Eome withdrew under arms from the senate, and how they 
succeeded in obtaining tribunes as defenders of their rights. 
As it is, I need only encourage you, and guide you in the 
way by which I think your liberty must be secured. I am 
not ignorant how great that power of the nobility is, which I, 
alone, deficient in resources, and with the mere empty sem- 
blance of office, am endeavouring to deprive of its authority ; 
or how much more securely the worst of men act in com- 
bination, than the best by themselves. But besides the con- 
fidence which I have in you, a confidence which suppresses 
all apprehension, I am sure that to struggle unsuccessfully in 
defence of liberty, is, to a man of spirit, more satisfactory 
than not to have struggled at all. Yet others, who have 
been created 1 for the vindication of your rights, have all been 
induced by personal interest, by the expectation of advantage, 
or by actual bribery, to turn their whole power and authority 
against you, esteeming it better to be treacherous for hire 
than to maintain their integrity without reward. They have 
all, accordingly, submitted themselves to the rule of a faction, 

of Cassias Varus and Terentius Lucullus, A.u.c. 681. C. Licinius Macer brought 
the matter forward again, but the settlement of it was delayed till the return of 
Pompey from the war in Spain. That Pompey, when he was afterwards consul 
with Crassus, a.u.c. 684, restored the rights, which had been so long and so cla- 
morously demanded, to the people, is generally known." Burnoiif. 

" Caius Macer, as an orator, was always deficient in influence, but was an ad- 
vocate of such diligence as could scarcely be surpassed. Had not his life, his 
manners, and his look, destroyed the effect of his intellectual power, his name 
among pleaders would have been much greater. His language, -though not 
copious, was far from being poor ; though not highly polished, it was far from 
being rude ; but his mode of utterance, his gesture, and whole demeanour, were 
entirely devoid of grace. His care, however, in producing and arranging his 
matter, was so extraordinary, that I have scarcely known greater diligence or 
attention in any one ; yet it seemed to be the offspring rather of subtlety than of 
skill in oratory. Though he was much esteemed in private, he had a greater re- 
putation in public causes/' Cic. Brut. 67. 

1 Others, who have been created, $c.~\ Omnes alii creati pro jure vestro. " Not 
only the tribunes, but all other magistrates, as is evident from impeina, which fol- 
lows." Gerlach. The tribunes of the people had no iruperium, or military com- 
mand, but only potestas, or civil power. 



236 SALLTJST. 

who, on tlie pretence of conducting a war, have assumed the 
control of the treasury and the army, of kingdoms and pro- 
vinces, and have built as it were, out of the spoils taken from 
you, a stronghold for your oppression; whilst you, like a 
tame herd, yield yourselves, notwithstanding the greatness of 
your numbers, to be possessed and fleeced by a few, and 
robbed of all that your ancestors left you, except the power 
of electing magistrates, who were once your defenders and 
are now your tyrants. All, therefore, have now gone over to 
them ; but, if you recover your privileges, most of them will 
soon return to you, (for but few have the courage to defend 
the cause which they adopt,) and all other advantages 1 will 
be on the side of you who are the stronger. Can you fear, 
indeed, that any force of your adversaries will stop you, if 
you persist in a purpose with unanimity, when they continue 
to dread you even though inactive and irresolute? unless 
you can suppose that Caius Cotta, a consul deep in the heart 
of their faction 2 , restored certain privileges to your tribunes 
from some other motive than fear. As for Lucius Sicinius 3 , 
who first dared to speak of the tribunitial authority, though 
he was cut off whilst you scarcely ventured to murmur, yet 
his oppressors dreaded your displeasure even before you com- 
plained of their injustice. At such inactivity on your part, 
my fellow-citizens, I cannot sufficiently wonder ; for you well 
understand that hope of redress from them is vain. 

" When Sylla, who imposed this detestable slavery on you, 
died, you thought that there was an end of your troubles. 
But Catulus 4 , still more implacable than Sylla, arose in his 
stead. Disturbances affected you in the consulship of Brutus 

1 Other advantages] Cceiera. So Cortius and Burnouf. Havercamp and Ger- 
lach have cceteri. The masculine, indeed, seems preferable. 

2 Deep in the heart of their faction] Ex factlone media. " Selected for the 
consulate from the very faction of your enemies." Burnouf. De Brosses under- 
stands by /actio media, a party who had determined to pursue a middle course of 
action between the people and the nobles ; but who else has believed in the exist- 
ence of such a party at Rome ? 

3 Lucius Sicinius] See the first note on this speech. He was found dead in 
his bed, having been killed, it was supposed, at the instigation of the consul 
Curio. 

4 Catulus] The same who is mentioned in the first note on the speech of Phi- 
lippus. He was a man of high character ; Macer speaks in disparagement of him 
to serve his own purposes. See Cic. De Off. i., 22; Veil. Pat. ii., 31. 



FEAGMENTS OP THE HISTOET OF SALLUST. 237 

and iEmilius Mamercus 1 . Cams Curio played the tyrant even 
to the destruction of your innocent tribune 2 . With what 
fury Lucullus, during the last year, made head against Lucius 
Quinctius 8 , you all witnessed. And what an uproar is now 
excited against myself! Eut such proceedings would be 
without a purpose, if they meant to cease to be your tyrants, 
before you cease to be their slaves. Besides, in all these civil 
commotions, though other objects are pretended, the con- 
tention on both sides is for the sovereignty over you. Other 
' -struggles, from the licentiousness of the nobility, their hatred 
to particular persons, or their unbounded avarice, have burst 
forth from time to time, but one thing only has continued to 
be the aim of both parties, the one seeking to secure it, and 
the other to abolish it for ever, I mean the tribunitial power, 
the weapon prepared by your ancestors for the defence of 
your liberty. 

" To these matters I warn and intreat you to give serious 
consideration ; not changing the names of things to suit your 
own indolence, and giving to slavery the title of tranquillity, 
which, if villany prevail over justice and honesty, you will 
have no opportunity to enjoy, though you might have 
had, if you had not bestirred yourselves at all. Reflect, 
too, that unless you gain the mastery, they will press you 
harder than before, since all injustice increases its safety by 
severity. 

" 6 "What think you that we should do, then ?' some one 
will say. Eirst of all, I think that you should lay aside 
your present fashion of manifesting activity in your tongues, 
and cherishing pusillanimity in your hearts, and of medita- 
ting on liberty only while you remain in the place where you 
are publicly addressed. In the next place, (that I may not 
urge you to those forcible measures by which your ancestors 
procured for themselves tribunes of the people, a share 
in the magistracy previously confined to the patricians, and 

1 Brutus and iEmilius Mamercus] "In the year 677, when the war against 
Lepidus was at its height." Burnouf. 

2 Innocent tribune] Sicinius. See above. Curio was consul with Cn. Octavius, 
in the year 678. 

3 Lucius Quinctius] See the first note. " Cicero calls him an orator well qua- 
lified to make turbulent harangues, Brut., c. 62. He also speaks of him, and of 
the disturbances which he excited, in his Oration for Cluentius, c. 34, 39, 40, and 
elsewhere." Burnouf. 



238 SALLTJST. 

the privilege of voting independently of the senate,) I would 
ask, since you have full power either to do or not to do, on 
your own account, what you perform at the command and 
for the service of others 1 , whether you wait for Jupiter, or 
some other god, to advise you as to your conduct ? You 
yourselves, my fellow-citizens, by executing those lordly com- 
mands of the consuls and decrees of the senators, give them 
your sanction and authority, and increase and strengthen 
the despotism exercised over you. Not, I say, that I 
would persuade you to revenge your injuries, but rather 
to remain at rest; nor do I demand restitution of your 
rights from a love of discord, as they falsely charge upon 
me, but from a desire to see an end of discord, and, if 
they obstinately refuse you justice, I do not recommend 
armed violence or a secession, but only that you should 
forbear to shed your blood in their behalf. Let them hold 
and exercise their offices in their own way ; let them obtain 
triumphs ; let them pursue Mithridates as well as Sertorius 
and the remnant of the exiles, with their trains of statues 
and images 2 ; but let danger and toil be far from you, who 
have no share in the advantage of them, unless indeed your 
services have been repaid by the late law, so suddenly 
passed, for the distribution of corn 3 ; a law by which they 
have estimated the liberty of each individual at the price of 
ten gallons 3 of corn, an allowance not more nutritious than 
that which is granted to prisoners. For as, by that small 

1 For the service of others] Pro cdiis. He means military service ; and hints 
that they might take up arms for themselves, if they pleased, or might refuse to 
serve in the army. 

2 With their trains of statues and images] Cum imaginibus suis. " Let them 
lead out the smoky effigies of their forefathers into the field, instead of soldiers/" 
Burnouf. 

3 Law — for — corn] u In the year 679, the consul Cotta had distributed corn to 
the people, in consequence of the famine of which I have spoken in the first note 
on the Letter of Pompey, and which gave occasion to the speech of Cotta that 
appears below. Afterwards a new law seems to have been made by Cassius and 
Terentius (in the year in which this speech was delivered), by which five modii of 
corn a month were given to every poor citizen." Burnouf. 

4 Ten gallons] Quint modii. " The modius, the principal dry measure of the 
Romans, was equal to one- third of the amphora ( Volusius Maecianus, Festus, 
Rhemn. Fann. ap. Wurm, § 67), and therefore contained 1 gall. 7*8576 pints 
English." Dr. Smith's Dictionary. Five modii would therefore be equal to 9 gall. 
7*2880 pints ; nearly 10 gallons. 



FRAGMENTS OF THE HISTORY OE SALLUST, 239 

pittance, death is just kept off from people in gaols, while 
their strength wastes away; so neither does your slender 
provision relieve you from the care of keeping your families ; 
and the idlest of you are disappointed of your humble hope 
of support. And though indeed it were ample, yet when it 
is offered as the price of slavery, what insensibility do you 
manifest in suffering yourselves to be deceived, and in think- 
ing that you are laid under obligation by what is intended to 
do you wrong ! For it is only by deluding you that they have 
any power over you as a body, or will make any attempts 
upon you ; and it is their art against which you must guard. 
" They prepare measures to soothe you, and try to put 
you off till the arrival of Cneius Pompey ; a man whom, as 
long as they dreaded him, they bore in triumph on their 
shoulders, but whom, when their fear is over, they are ready 
to tear in pieces, Nor are they ashamed (assertors, as they 
call themselves, of liberty) of being too timid to redress a 
grievance, or too weak to defend a right, great as is their 
number, without the support of that single person. To 
myself, indeed, it is sufficiently evident, that Pompey, a 
young man of so much honour, will rather be your leader, 
if you agree to choose him, than a sharer in their tyranny ; 
and that he will be the most forward to re-establish the 
power of your tribunes. But there was a time, my fellow- 
citizens, when each individual depended on the conjunctive 
strength of the. community, and not the community on the 
power of one ; and when no single person could give or take 
away from you such rights as those under consideration. 
Eut I have said enough ; it is not want of knowledge that 
impedes your course 1 , but it is I know not what torpor that 
has seized you, under the influence of which you are moved 
neither by honour nor by disgrace ; you have given up 
everything for the sake of slothful indulgence, thinking that 
you have ample liberty because your backs are spared the 
scourge, and because you may walk whither you please, a 
spectacle to your wealthy masters. But your fellow- citizens 
in the country have not even these privileges; but are 

1 It is not want of knowledge that impedes your course] Neque enim ignorantid 
res claudit. " Claudit, i.e. claudicat; non propter ignoraptiam res minus pro- 
cedit. Apul. de Deo Socr. Ut ubi dubitatione clauderet, ibi divinatione consis- 
teret." Cortius. 



240 SALLUST. 

crushed between the jarrings of the powerful, and sent into 
the provinces to "be the property of the magistrates. They 
fight and conquer only for a faction ; and whatever party 
has the advantage, the people suffer the treatment of the 
vanquished. And such treatment they will suffer daily 
more and more, as long as your oppressors continue to 
make greater efforts in support of their tyranny, than you 
exert for the recovery of your liberty 1 ." 



FEOM THE FOUKTH BOOK. 
LETTER OE MITHEIDATES TO KING AESACES 3 . 

King Mitheidates to Kino Arsaces, wishing health. 
All who are solicited, w r hen in prosperous circumstances, to 
take a share in a war, ought to consider whether they may 
still continue at peace, and whether, at the same time, that 
which is requested of them be sufficiently just and safe, 
glorious or dishonourable. If you were at liberty to enjoy 
uninterrupted tranquillity ; if a most unprincipled enemy 
were not threatening you ; if illustrious renown, in case of 
subduing the Eomans, were not awaiting you, I should not 
venture to ask your alliance, or indulge a vain hope of 
uniting my ill-fortune with your prosperity. The circum- 
stances, however, which seem likely to deter you, I mean 

1 " This speech, which is the most vehement and bitter of all those in Sallust, 
seems worthy of the highest commendation. It has all the sting and strength of 
the forum (aculeos et nervos forenses), and its author seems to have rivalled, not 
only Thucydides, but Demosthenes himself." GerlacJi. 

" In spite of the clamours of Licinius, however, the senate succeeded in putting 
off the decision of the matter to the return of Pompey ; who, to gain the favour of 
the populace, annulled all the laws of the dictator, and restored to the tribunes the 
privilege of disturbing the state." Dureau Delamalle. 

2 Letter of Mithridates to King Arsaces] " Mithridates, driven from his kingdom 
by the successes of Lucullus, had fled into Armenia, to Tigranes. Here he renewed 
the war, but both he and Tigranes were conquered, and the metropolis, Tigrano- 
certa, was taken. At this period, it appeared that Arsaces, king of the Parthians, 
was strong enough to secure victory to whichsoever side he might attach himself, 
if he could be persuaded to attach himself to either. His alliance was accordingly 
sought, on the one hand, by Lucullus, and on the other by Mithridates and 
Tigranes. To sway his wavering resolution towards himself, Mithridates wrote 
the following letter. But its effect on Arsaces, who distrusted Sextilius, Lucullus's 
deputy, was, that he resolved to unite himself to neither side. De Brosses, 
v. 31, seg." Burnouf. 



FRAGMENTS OP THE HISTORY OF SALLTJST. 241 

your resentment against Tigranes 1 on account of the recent 
war, and the unfortunate state of my affairs, will appear, if 
you but take a just view of the matter, the greatest incen- 
tives to induce you to join me. Tigranes, ready to submit to 
you, will consent to whatever terms you please ; for myself, 
Fortune, who has taken much from me, has given me ex- 
perience to advise others ; and, what is beneficial for those 
prosperous as yourself, I, who am fallen from the height of 
power, afford you an example for the better conduct of your 
affairs. 

The Romans have constantly had the same cause, a cause 
of the greatest antiquity, for making war upon all nations, 
people, and kings, the insatiable desire of empire and wealth. 
Prompted by this incentive, they first took up arms against 
Philip, king of Macedonia ; but, being pressed by the Car- 
thaginians, they assumed the mask of friendship 2 , and, at 
the same time, artfully diverted Antiochus, who was coming 
to his aid, by the concession of Asia 3 . Soon after, when they 
had made Philip their slave 4 , Antiochus was despoiled of all 
his dominions on this side Mount Taurus, and ten thousand 
talents. As for Perses, the son of Philip, when, after many 
and various contests, he had received from them a pledge of 

1 Resentment against Tigranes, (J'c] " Tigranes, several years before, had been 
given as a hostage to the Parthians (see Justin., xxxviii., 3), and had been restored 
by them to his father's kingdom ; but compelled, at the same time, to give up 
seventy valleys of the Armenian territory as the price of his restoration. 
(Strab., xi.) Some time afterwards, when his couragejwas roused by his alliance 
with Mithridates, he resumed possession of his land, and threw off the yoke of 
the Parthians altogether. Hence the anger of Arsaces. De Brosses, v. 2." 
Burnouf. 

2 Assumed the mask of friendship] Amicitiam simulanles. "Friendship 
namely, for Philip. And as they pretended friendship for Philip while the Punic 
war continued, so they pretended friendship for Antiochus as long as the war with 
Philip continued." Burnouf. 

3 Concession of Asia] Concessione Asice. " It nowhere appears that the 
Eomans, at that time, made any formal cession of any part of Asia to Antiochus. 
But we find from Livy, xxxiii., 39, that Antiochus, when Philip was fighting for 
the Romans, took the opportunity of seizing on several cities belonging to 
that prince, and that the Romans, at the time, took no notice of the matter. 
Burnouf. 

4 Made Philip their slave] Tracio Philippo. " Sc. in servitutem, under the 
name of an ally ; for Philip fought on the side of the Romans against Antiochus, 
Livy, xxxvi., 8." Burnovf. 

B 



242 SALLtrsT. 

faith before the gods of Samothrace, these crafty devisers of 
treachery, who had given him life by the articles of their 
agreement, killed him by depriving him of sleep 1 . Eurnenes, 
of whose friendship they ostentatiously boast, they at first 
betrayed to Antiochus, as the price of a peace with him. 
Attalus, the guardian of a captured territory 3 , they reduced, 
by pecuniary exactions and insults, from a monarch to the 
most wretched of slaves ; and then, having forged an un- 
natural 3 will in his name, they led his son Aristonicus, for 
having attempted the recovery of his father's kingdom, in 
triumph like a conquered enemy. Asia was next occupied 
by their troops, and at length, on the death of Mcomedes 4 , 
they seized and ravaged 5 the whole of Bithynia, though 
there was undoubtedly a son born of Nusa, whom they had 
recognised as queen. "What shall I say of myself ? I was 
on every side separated, by kingdoms and provinces 6 , from 
their dominions, yet, as I was reported to be rich and 
averse to slavery, they provoked me to war by setting Mco- 

1 Depriving him of sleep] When Perses was defeated by Paullus iEmilius, and 
driven from Macedonia, he fled to the island of Samothrace. and took refuge in a 
temple. Octavius, the commander of the Roman fleet, persuaded him to quit it, 
and trust himself to the faith of the Romans. Veil. Paterc, i,, 9. Liv., xliv., xlv. 
Having been led in triumph, he was allowed to reside, at the intercession of 
iEmilius, under guard at Alba, where he is said by most authors to have died by 
abstaining from food. Plutarch, however, in his Life of Paullus iEmilius, c. 37, 
relates that the soldiers by whom he was guarded, having for some reason taken a 
dislike to him, and not daring to offer him violence, used means to prevent him 
from sleeping, by which he died. See also Diodor. Sic. lib., xxxi. 

2 Guardian of a captured territory] Custodem agri captivi. " He insinuates 
that the kingdom of Attalus, even during his life, was but a province of the 
Romans." Burnouf. 

3 Unnatural] Impio. Because Attalus, by such a will, set aside his own children. 
Justin., xxxvi., 4, intimates that Attalus was never very sound in mind. Por- 
phyrio, on Hor. Od., ii., 18, Neque Attali Ignotus hceres regiam occvpavi, says 
that the expression hceres occupavi " conveys a suspicion, from which we suppose 
that the Romans claimed this inheritance by a forged will :" Suspicionem dat, qua 
existimamusfalso testamento Romanos hanc sibi hcereditatem vindicdsse. Mithri- 
dates, therefore, seems not to have been the only one that suspected the Romans 
of unfair dealing in the matter. 

4 Nicomedes] He also left his dominions to the Romans by will. See Liv. 
Epit., xciii. ; Veil. Pat. ii., 4. 

5 Seized and ravaged] Diripuere. 

6 Provinces] Tetrarchiis. See on Cat., c. 20. 



FRAGMENTS OF THE HISTORY OF SALLTJST. 243 

inedes upon me 1 ; I being, indeed, perfectly aware of their 
evil intentions, and having declared with regard to the Cre- 
tans, then the only free people in the world, and king 
Ptolemy, that that would happen which has since come to 
pass. My wrongs I avenged ; I expelled Nicomedes from 
Bithynia ; I recovered Asia, the spoil of king Antiochus 3 ; I 
took the heavy yoke of servitude from Greece. It was only 
the baseness of Archelaus 3 , that vilest of slaves, in betraying 
my army, that prevented my progress. And those whom 
cowardice, or the wretched policy of resting their security on 
my efforts, withheld from taking arms in my behalf, pay the 
severest penalties for their folly; Ptolemy is buying off war, 
from day to day, with money 4 ; and the Cretans 5 , who have 

1 By setting Nicomedes upon me] Per Nicomedem. " He makes the same com- 
plaint in Justin., xxxviii., 5. Nicomedes had been expelled, by the arms, indeed, 
of his brother, but by the secret instigation of Mithridates, from his kingdom ; and 
the senate, by sending legates, effected his restoration. . . . But the Boman 
generals, who hoped for rich spoils from a war, incited Nicomedes to invade the 
dominions of Mithridates. Of this aggression Mithridates made bitter complaints, 
but finding no redress, thought it time to commence hostilities. This was the 
origin of the war with Mithridates, who had previously, in name at least, been 
the ally of the Romans. See Appian, De Bell. Mithrid." Burnouf. 

2 Asia, the spoil of king Antiochus] Asiamque spolium regis Antiochi. " He 
calls it a spoil, because it had been taken from Antiochus by the Bomans. See 
above, Antiochus omni cis Taurum agro — spoliatus est : ' Antiochus was despoiled 
of all his dominions on this side Mount Taurus.' " Cortius. 

3 Archelaus] " General of the army of Mithridates, who, having lost Athens, 
and suffered defeats at Chseronea and Orchomenus, made peace, in the name of 
Mithridates, with Sylla, to which the king, after some delay, gave his sanction. 
But extraordinary honours being paid to Archelaus by Sylla, Mithridates began to 
suspect him of having acted treacherously, both in the field and with regard to 
the peace ; and his suspicions were increased, when, being sent to the legions of 
Fimbria, who had expressed some intention of deserting to Mithridates, he him- 
self was taken prisoner by them, and his attendants slain. Having afterwards 
recovered his liberty, but dreading the wrath of his master, he fled, with his wives 
and children, to the Bomans, to whom he ever after continued faithful. See 
Plutarch, Vit. Syll. and Appian de Bell. Mithrid." Burnouf. 

4 With money] Pretio. "A force d'argent." Be Brosses. "He perhaps refers 
to those large presents made by Ptolemy to Lucullus. Plutarch in Lucull." 
Cortius. 

5 The Cretans, <J-c] " The Cretan war, if we would but admit the truth, we 
ourselves occasioned, solely from the desire of subduing that noble island. It was 
thought to have favoured Mithridates, and we resolved to take vengeance for this 
offence by force of arms." — Florus, iii., 7. 

r2 



244 SALLTJST. 

already been once attacked, will see no end of hostilities till 
they are utterly subjugated, 

For my own part, perceiving that war against me was 
rather delayed by the Romans (on account of their troubles 
at home), than peace secured to me, I resumed hostilities; 
though Tigranes, who now too late approves my counsels, re- 
fused to join me ; though you were at a great distance ; and 
though all the neighbouring powers were under submission 
to my enemies. I routed Marcus Cotta, the Roman general, 
in a battle by land at Chalcedon ; and despoiled him of a 
fine fleet by sea. But being delayed, at the head of a vast 
army, by a long siege at Cyzicus, I suffered from want of 
provisions ; for no one assisted me by land, and the winter 
prevented all relief by sea. Compelled, therefore, though 
not by any force of the enemy, to return to my hereditary 
dominions, I had the misfortune to lose, by shipwrecks at 
Parium 1 and Heraclea, my fleet and the flower of my troops.. 
I recruited my army, how r ever, at Cabira 2 ; but, after various 
encounters with Lucullus, a second scarcity affected both of 
us. But he had the kingdom of Ariobarzanes 3 , still unin- 
jured by the war, for a resource ; whilst I, finding all the 
country round me wasted, retired to Armenia ; the Romans 
pursuing, not me, but their own plan 4 of subverting every 
kingdom ; and because they were enabled, from the narrow- 
ness of the pass through which we marched, to prevent us 
from coming fairly to action, they attribute what was the 
consequence of Tigranes' imprudence, to the successful 
efforts of their own arms. 

J[ intreat you then to consider, whether, if I am subdued, 
you will find yourself better able to resist the Romans, or 
more likely to see an end put to the war. I know indeed 
that you have abundance of troops, arms, and treasure ; on 
which accounts you are sought by me as an ally, and by 

1 Parium] "A town on the coast of Mysia Minor, not far from Cyzicns. See 
Cellar., iii., 3." Cortius. Heraclea was in Pontus. 

2 Cabira] " A city of Pontus, bordering on Armenia, afterwards named Diopolis 
by Pompey." Cortius. 

3 Ariobarzanes] King of Cappadocia. 

4 Pursuing, not me, but their own plan] Secnti non me, sed morem suum. Of 
such a play on a word, I believe that there is no other instance in Sallust. 



TBAQMENTS OF THE HISTORY OF SALLUST. 245 

them as a prey, And what remains best for yon 1 to deter- 
mine, is, while the kingdom of Tigranes is still flourishing, 
and while I am in possession of troops inured to war, to 
bring the contest to a termination at a distance from home, 
and with little labour, by the efforts of our own soldiers ; 
since Tigranes and myself can neither conquer nor be con- 
quered without hazard to you. 

.... Are you ignorant that the Eomans had spread themselves 
J westward until the ocean stopped their progress, before 
i they turned their arms against us ? And that they have 
\ had nothing, from the very commencement of their being, 
neither home, nor wives, nor lands, nor rule, but what they 
have gained by rapine? Originally a herd of fugitives, 
without a country, without any known parents 3 , they founded 
an empire by the destruction of mankind, and are restrained, 
neither by human nor divine obligations, from ravaging and 
oppressing all, whether friends or allies, near or remote, 
weak or strong. Every power that does not become their 
slave, and regal powers most of all, they regard as an enemy. 
Few states wish for liberty 3 ; but most prefer just monarchs ; 
on which account they detest us, as their rivals in power, and 
likely to be the avengers of the cause of mankind. For 

1 And what remains best for you, <Jc] Cceterum consilium est, Tigranis regno 
integro, #c. This is the reading of Burnouf, whose interpretation I have followed, 
but without feeling sure that it is right, Cortius points the words consilium est 
Tigranis, regno, <§c, a mode which Gerlach advocates in his notes, but gives 
the other method in his text. He justly calls the passage locus difficillimus. 

2 Without any known parents] Sine par entibus. " Sans parens." DeBrosses. 
Cortius takes parentes, in this passage, in the sense of subjects, saying that, in 
the miscellaneous multitude that formed the origin of Rome, there were neither 
imperantes hoy parentes, neither governors nor subjects ; but this interpretation is 
justly condemned by Gerlach, who cites from Sen. Ep., 108, Anci pater nullus, 
and from Hor, Sat. i., 6, 10, Viros nullis majoribus ortos. He might have added 
what is said of Servius Tullius in Livy, Patre nullo, matre servd. 

3 Few states wish for liberty] Pauci libertatem — volunt. " He speaks with 
regard to the character of the Asiatics, who neither knew liberty by experience, 
nor had any due conception of it ; referring especially to the case of the Cappado- 
cians, who, when the last of the family of their king Ariarathes, who had been 
killed by Mithridates, died, were made free by their own senate at the direction of 
Mithridates himself; but they soon declared that a nation could not exist without 
a monarch, and chose Ariobarzanes for their king, with the approbation of their 
senate. Justin., xxxviii., 2. ' Liberty,' says Montesquieu, ' has appeared insup- 
portable to people who have not been accustomed to enjoy it ; as a pure air is 
sometimes hurtful to such as have lived in marshy districts.' Spirit of Laws, 
xix., 2."' Burnouf. 



246 SALLUST. 

yourself in particular, who are master of Seleucia, the greatest 
of cities, and of Persia, renowned for its wealth, what can 
you expect from them but dissimulation for the present, and 
war hereafter? The Romans have weapons to attack all, 
hut the keenest for those whose conquest will yield most 
spoil. It is by daring and deceit, and by raising war upon 
war, that they have become great. Pursuing this course, 
they will either suppress all other powers, or perish in the 
attempt. And to effect their destruction will not be diffi- 
cult, if you on the side of Mesopotamia, and I on that of 
Armenia, surround their army, which will thus be deprived 
of provisions and succour, and which, indeed, has been 
hitherto preserved only by the favour of Fortune, or by our 
own fault. You will then be celebrated among posterity, as 
having come to the aid of great princes 1 , and having sup- 
pressed the spoilers of nations. This course I advise and 
exhort you to take ; and not, by suffering me to perish, to 
delay your own destruction merely for a while, rather than 
become a conqueror by uniting with me 2 . 



Of what book the following speech is a fragment is uncertain. Cortius. 
Gerlach, and Burnouf, think that it formed part of the third. De Brosses places 
it in the second. 

SPEECH OE CA1TJS COTTA 3 , THE CONSUL, TO THE PEOPLE. 

" It has been my lot, my fellow-citizens, to experience 

1 Great princes] Magnis regibus. Himself and Tigranes. 

2 " The arts of the Komans are nowhere more fully exposed than in this letter. 
We are not to believe, however, with the learned De Brosses, that it was written 
by Mithridates himself ; .... for the commencement of it is a manifest imitation 
of Thucydides, L, 32 ; and the diction of Sallust is easily to be recognised through- 
out it." Burnouf. 

3 Caius Cotta] u This speech, as appears from internal evidence, was spoken by 
Caius Aurelius Cotta, consul in the year 679, when a disturbance had arisen 
among the people in consequence of the famine of which we have spoken in the 
first note on the Letter of Pompey. It ought, therefore, to be referred to the third 
book of Sallust's History ; and they are greatly in error who attribute it to Marcus 
Cotta, who was routed by Mithridates, and whom they suppose to be here depre- 
cating the anger of the people on account of his defeat. It is plain, from the 
words of the speaker, that the people were threatening him with death under the 

influence of hunger C. Cotta was a very great orator. Cicero says much 

respecting him, Brut. 30, 49, 55. He is also one of the speakers in the treatise 
De Orator e." Burnouf. Gerlach's remarks, on the authorship of the speech, are 
to the same effect. 



FRAGMENTS OE THE HISTORY OF SALLUST. 247 

many perils at home, and many reverses in the field ; which, 
by the help of the gods and my own efforts, I have partly 
endured and partly surmounted ; but in none of them have 
I been found wanting in ability to direct my conduct, or in 
industry to execute my plans. Prosperity and adversity have 
wrought changes in my resources, but never in my mind. 
Yet, in our present calamitous circumstances, every support, 
in common with Fortune, seems to have deserted me. Old 
- age, too, which is a burden in itself, doubles my anxiety ; for, 
at my advanced period of life, I cannot hope even to die with 
honour 1 . Should I prove a traitor to you, and, after being 
tivice born 2 , lightly esteem my household gods, my country, 
and this supreme command, what torture would be sufficient 
for me during life, or what punishment after death ? All the 
torments attributed to the infernal regions would be too 
little for my guilt. 

" From my earliest manhood, both as a public and private 
character, my conduct has been before you ; whoever wished 
to profit by my advocacy, my counsel, or my purse, has 
never been refused. I have exerted no subtilty of eloquence 
or talent to work mischief. Though most desirous of friend- 
ship as a private individual, I have incurred the most violent 
enmities in the cause of the state. But when I was over- 
powered, together with the commonwealth, by a victorious 
faction ; when I stood in need of relief from others, and was 
expecting still greater calamities, you, my fellow-citizens, re- 
stored to me my country, and my household gods, with the 
greatest possible honour. For such benefits, if I could lay 
down a life (which is impossible) for each of you, I should 
hardly think that I testified sufficient gratitude. Since life 
and death belong to nature 3 ; but the privilege of living 

1 Even to die with honour] " For he cannot die with honour, who dies under 
the imputation of a great crime." Burnouf. 

2 Twice born] Bis genitus. " Those were said to be bis geniti in the state, who, 
after some calamity, attained eminent honour, or who, after being banished from 
their country, were received into it again. That Cotta had been exiled, and had 
returned, appears from what he afterwards says, and from Cicero, Brut., c. 90. 
So Cicero, Epist. ad Att., vi., 6, calls his own return Trakiyyevtcrla.' 1 '' Cortius. 
He was exiled, according to Burnouf, A.u.c. 663, and recalled by Sylla after his 
victory over Marius. 

3 Since life and death belong to nature, ^c] Nam vita et mors jura naturce 
stmt, $c. " If I could lay down a life for each of you, I should only give what 



wr 



248. sallust. 

among one's countrymen, without censure, uninjured in re- 
putation or fortune, is given and received as a favour from 
one's country. 

" You have elected us Consuls 1 , my fellow-citizens, at a 
time when the republic is in the greatest embarrassment 
both at home and abroad. The generals in Spain 2 are calling 
for pay, troops, arms, and provisions ; demands which their 
circumstances oblige them to make ; for, from the defection 
of our allies 3 , and the retreat of Sertorius over the mountains, 
they can neither come to an engagement, nor obtain neces- 
sary supplies. Armies are maintained in Asia and Cilicia, 
on account of the formidable power of Mithridates. Mace- 
donia is full of enemies, as well as the maritime parts of 
Italy and the provinces. Our revenues, which are small, 
and, from the distractions of war, irregularly received, scarcely 
suffice for the half of our expenses 4 ; and hence we sail with 
a fleet, for conveying provisions to the troops, much smaller 
than on previous occasions. 

" If this state of things has been produced by treachery or 
neglect in us, act against us as vengeance may prompt you ; 
inflict the most severe punishment upon us. But if Fortune, 
w T hich is common to all, has merely frowned upon us, why do 
you meditate resolutions unworthy of yourselves, of us, and 
of the commonwealth ? For myself, whose long life is draw- 
ing to a close, I do not deprecate death, if, by the infliction 
of it, any inconvenience may be removed from you ; nor can 
I terminate my life, the life of a free-born citizen, in a more 

belongs to nature, and not to man ; but you gave me what belongs to yourselves, 
namely, the privilege of living without dishonour, and even in the full enjoyment of 
fame and fortune among my countrymen. What I should offer to you, could not 
be received as a real gift ; what you conferred on me, was both given and received 
as the greatest of gifts." Burnouf. 

1 Us Consuls] Himself and Lucullus, afterwards famous for his conduct of the 
Mithridatic war. 

2 The generals in Spain] Pompey and Metellus. See Pompey's Letter, and the 
notes. " From these words it is plain that this speech was delivered some short 
time before the Letter of Pompey was sent to the senate ; for Lucullus and Cotta 
granted Pompey's requests." Gerlach. 

3 Defection of our allies] " Those in Spain, whom Sertorius had detached from 
the Romans." Burnouf. 

4 Half of our expenses] Partem sumptuum. Sc. dimidiam. So dua: partes is 
used for two-thirds. 



fbagments of the histoby of sallust. 249 

honourable cause than that of promoting your welfare. I, 
Caius Cotta, your consul, am here before you ; I do what our 
ancestors, in unsuccessful wars, have often done ; I devote 
and offer myself for the republic. But consider to what sort 
of person you must hereafter intrust its interests ; for no 
man of merit will be willing to accept such an honour, when 
he must be accountable for misfortunes at sea, and for all 
the events of war, whether conducted by himself or by others, 
or come to an ignominious end. Remember, however, when 
you have put me to death, that I died, not for any iniquitous 
or avaricious practices, but resigning my breath willingly in 
behalf of those to whom I owe the highest obligations. 

" But I conjure you, my fellow-citizens, by your regard for 
yourselves, and by the glory of your ancestors, bear up 
against adversity, and devise proper measures for the good 
of the state. To the management of a great empire much 
care, and much toil, are necessary ; toil from which it is in , 
vain for you to shrink, and in vain to look for the affluence 
of peace, when every province and realm, every sea and land, 
is embroiled or exhausted with war." 



TWO EPISTLES TO JULIUS C^SAR, ON THE 
GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE; 

WHICH HAVE BEEN ASCRIBED TO SALLUST. 



41 These Letters were formerly entitled Orations. But that they are Letters is 
apparent from various passages in them ; and especially from the twelfth section of 
the first, in which the writer says, forsitan, imperator,perlectis litteris, $c. I have 
therefore followed Cortius in giving them that name. That which I have placed 
first, in accordance with the opinions of the best French translators, De Brosses, 
Bureau Delamalle, and Eusebe Salvert, is generally put second. But it is evident, 
from the ninth section of the first, and from the second section of the second, 
that they were written in the order in which they are here given. 

" There has been much contention amongst scholars whether they were written 
by Sallust, or by some imitator of Sallust's style* Cortius maintains that they are 
not Sallust's, and bestows great labour in proving that every word in them may 
be found in Sallust's other writings ; and hence infers that they are not the com- 
position of Sallust. Any other person might possibly, from such premises, have 
formed a different conclusion. But Cortius wrote his commentary in a passion, 
and does not scruple to charge the author of the Epistles, throughout his notes, 
with the grossest folly and stupidity ; reproaches which would certainly recoil 
upon himself, had he not, by his other annotations on Sallust, honourably ren- 
dered himself proof against them. Douza, a man of as great learning as Cortius, 
asserts that they must certainly be Sallust's; 'for there could not be taken,' 
says he, ' from the same spring, two drops of water more like to one another 
than these letters are like the relics of Sallust which fortune has spared 
us.' That such is the case, every one who reads the letters will understand 

as well as Douza Carrio expresses doubts: of which the 

chief cause is, that they are not cited by the old grammarians, who adduce so 
many phrases from Sallust's other works ; and I am willing to allow this objec- 
tion its due weight. But De Brosses answers it by observing that they may have 
been little known, from having been written as to a private friend, and without 
any intention that they should be laid before the public. 

" They were found by Pomponius Laatus in a manuscript in the Vatican, attached 
to the fragments of Sallust's History. Lastus, when, he published them, did not 
prefix Sallust's name; but that circumstance is no proof for or against them. I 
am induced to ascribe them to Sallust, first, by the diction, which is truly 
Sallustian, and, secondly, by the remarkable knowledge of political affairs which 
appears in them. It seems impossible to me that any Pseudo-Sallust could have 



TWO EPISTLES TO JULIUS C.ESAE. 251 

brought the days of Caesar so vividly before his mental vision, and have spoken 
with such fitness and accuracy concerning the transactions of those times. There 
are many things in the letters which, as it appears to me, could not have been 
written but by a person who had been present at the occurrences of which he 
speaks; many things, which, if not written by the well-known Sallust, would 
almost oblige me to believe that there must have been two Sallusts. I therefore 
proceed to comment upon them as Sallust's own productions." Burnouf. 

11 Those who have denied that these Epistles are Sallust's, have rested then- 
negations on arguments which are far from being satisfactory. Nor can I see 
the usual penetration of Cortius in the remarks which he has made on these com- 
positions : for in saying that elegance of construction, judicious connexion, and 
what he calls numerousness of style, are not to be found in them, he seems to me to 
be totally in error. To assert that the whole complexion of the language is at 
variance with the diction of Sallust, is so far from being just, that we may rather 
suppose the author to have collected all the flowers of Sallust's style, with a view 
to give a greater air of genuineness to his productions. But there are other con- 
siderations which show that these Letters, or Orations, as some would call them, 
are forgeries. Not one of the grammarians has cited them ; nor is the name of 
Sallust prefixed to them in the Vatican manuscript, which I have carefully col- 
lated. They are added to the orations and epistles extracted from the History 
of Sallust, but the writer of the manuscript appears to have been totally ignorant 
of the name of then- author. It is difficult, too, to show at what time, or with 
what intention, such epistles could have been written to Caesar by Sallust. They 
seem, indeed, to refer to the end of Caesar's lifetime, when he was endeavouring 
to settle the state by passing new laws, and when Sallust was proconsul of 
Numidia ; for I can hardly suppose that Sallust addressed Caesar by letter when 
they were both at Rome. But there are many expressions in the Epistles which 
show that they cannot be assigned to any certain period. In the first Epistle, 
c. h\, mention is made of an adverse consul, and commentators reasonably sup- 
posed that this may refer to Lentulus (Comp. Caes., B. C, i., 1, 2) ; and it would 
accordingly be inferred that this letter was written soon after the war commenced ; 
but in c. iv., the writer speaks of Cato and Domitius as being dead; Pompey 
must therefore have been killed before the time to which he alludes : yet in c. iii. 
he speaks of P^ompey as being still alive ; and, to surprise the reader still more, 
he recurs, in c. ix., to Domitius and Cato again, expatiating on their abilities, and 
intimating that they are still to be feared. This confusion of times might be 
remedied by expunging the fourth section, but this would be to support a bad 
cause by an unsatisfactory mode of proceeding. However, if we grant that the 
•letters were written at the particular time at which they profess to have been 
written, it is further to be considered whether the subjects of them are suitable to 
the genius of Sallust, and to the friendship which subsisted between him and 
Caesar. In the second letter it will readily be acknowledged that there are many 
sentiments worthy of Sallust ; for the writer of it may fairly be allowed to have 
considerable knowledge of political affairs. But however acutely he reasons on 
the. general regulation of a state, the letter, unless it contains admonitions adapted 
either to establish or correct the condition of affairs at the time of Caesar, ought 
not to have been addressed to him. 

" It may be said that the design of the author of the epistle was to admonish 



252 SALLT7ST. 

Csesar to use his victory with moderation, and not to listen to the sanguinary- 
suggestions of unprincipled men. But what men he means, I cannot understand. 
Among the many vices imputed to Csesar, a willingness to allow himself to he 
directed, with too great facility, by the counsels of others, can hardly be numbered ; 
and he exercised his power with such clemency and gentleness, as excited the 
admiration even of his enemies. The writer of the letter, indeed, might be 
thought to have set forth his counsels, not with a view to the benefit of others, but 
to relieve some uneasy feeling in his own mind. He says that the licence of ex- 
penditure and rapacity is to be restrained ; that the usurers are to be suppressed ; 
that the honour paid to money should be diminished, and military service 
equalised. Such are the counsels of the second letter ; and among them are inter- 
mingled many remarks on the merits of Csesar, on the perverse proceedings of the 
opposite faction, and on the corrupt morals of the youth ; all of which may justly 
be regarded as wholly foreign to the author's subject. But if we allow that this 
epistle was written by Sallust himself, we must assuredly admit that the other 
(which is properly put first) was composed by some declaimer, as a mere exercise 
of the intellect* Some things are expressed in both letters in nearly the same 
words ; as in the first section of each epistle : quod prizes defessi, #c. ; ' that men 
are sooner weary of praising you, than you of doing things worthy of praise.* 
Other things, again, are totally at variance with one another ; thus Sylla, in the 
second epistle, cap. v., is accused of cruelty ; while in the first, cap. iv., he is ex- 
tolled for clemency. The imitations, also, of parts of the introductions to the 
Catiline and Jugurtha are ridiculous ; as in the first epistle, cap. i. : Sed mihi 
stadium fuit adolescentuh, <§c. ; and cap. x. : Postquam mihi artes, tfc. The 
seventh chapter, too, is extremely similar to the eleventh and twelfth chapters of 
the Catiline. As for the words, and figures of speech, copied from Sallust, they 
are so numerous that the reader can regard their accumulation only as the work 
of a jejune declaimer ; thus, in the first epistle, cap. ix. : Parantur hcec disciplind 
Grcecorum, cj-c, he takes from the Jugurtha, c. lxxxv., the expressions of con- 
tempt for Greek learning which Sallust has attributed to Marius, and reproduces 
them as the sentiments of Sallust himself, not reflecting that Sallust was a great 
reader of the Greek authors, and sought water for his own brooks in the springs of 
Thucydides. Compare also cap. v., in duas paries, (Jc, and Jugurtha, c. xli. 

" But to say nothing more of such imitations, which every reader may easily find 
for himself, what, let me ask, is the object of the whole of the first epistle ? The 
modest author offers advice to Cassar about the regulation of the state. But what 
was the advice which he thought worthy of being the subject of two epistles to 
Caesar, when he was busied with important occupations ? He assails the faction 
of the nobles, as if it had not been at all humbled, and is inspired with such ardour. 
for malediction, that he decries those whom he had previously extolled, and heaps 
reproaches on those, as living men, whom he had before represented as dead. 
Compare cap. iv. and ix. of the first epistle. He advises Caesar to add to the 
number of citizens ; but many new citizens had already been made ; he thinks 
that the eagerness for getting money should be discouraged, but he had spoken at 
greater length on this subject in the other epistle. He thinks that the senate 
should be augmented, but Caasar had before admitted into it a number of the 
worst characters. He is persuaded that the authority of the senate would be 
greatly increased, if the senators should vote by ballot, but he forgets that means 



TWO EPISTLES TO JULIUS CAESAR. 253 

would thus be furnished for practising dishonesty ; for many men of weak minds 
are restrained from immoral dealings only by a false ambition, which excites in them 
a desire to appear good, though real goodness is far from them ; and if such men 
can but conceal their corrupt practices, they will dare anything whatsoever. But 
the writer's want of judgment is most flagrantly manifested in his suggestions to 
Cassar to restore liberty which had been overthrown. Can it be supposed that 
Sallust was so ignorant of Caesar's disposition, and of the state of public affairs, 
as to offer such advice? The prosopopoeia, too, of Rome, uttering prayers and 
supplications, as she appears on the page of Cicero, militates against the genuine- 
ness of the epistles. When I take all these points into consideration, I am so far 
from believing that the epistles are Sallust's, that I cannot even suppose them to 
be both the work of the same author. We might rather imagine that two students 
of rhetoric, who had made themselves masters of the striking peculiarities of 
Sallust's ornate diction, and who knew that Sallust himself was a friend of Cassar, 
and an opponent of the aristocratic party, had resolved on giving, in these letters r 
an imitation of Sallust's style and manner. The similarity of the subjects of the 
letters throughout, and of many particular passages, induces me to believe that 
two young men, who were under the same teacher of oratory, had engaged in a 
contest to show which of them had made the greatest progress in this peculiar- 
study. This opinion, I think, might be more fully supported by a more minute 
examination and comparison of particular passages." Geriach. 

These observations of Geriach are rather long ; but, as they may be regarded 
as decisively settling the question respecting the authenticity and genuineness of 
the epistles, I have thought it better to give them in full. Kritzius, who is no 
friend to Geriach in general, cordially agrees with him in opinion on this point, 
and bestows the highest praise on his remarks : 

" The epistles to Csesar," says he, " on the regulation of the state, I could not 
induce myself to add to my edition, as many incontrovertible proofs show that 
they are the offspring of some school of declamation, where it was rashly tried, 
whether it were possible to represent Sallust's force of mind merely by copying 
Sallust's diction. ..... I had intended to support this opinion of mine 

by arguments of some length, but the execution of my purpose is rendered un- 
necessary by the diligence and industry of Geriach, who has examined both of the 
epistles with so much penetration and soundness of judgment, and shows, with so 
much ability, that these compositions, attributed to the most eminent of Roman 
historians, are certainly spurious, that whoever, after considering his arguments, 
can still believe them genuine, must be regarded as ready to believe the grossest 

absurdities that can be advanced Geriach, at the same time, 

acutely conjectures that both are not the production of the same hand, and that 
two young men, in some school of rhetoric, may have agreed to write, on the same 
subject, a couple of essays to show how far each had mastered the style and 

matter of Sallust. Than this conjecture I can conceive nothing more probable." 

See the Life of Sallust prefixed to this translation. 



254 SALLTTST. 



EPISTLE I. 

' I. I am aware how difficult and hazardous an undertaking 
it is to offer advice to a prince or governor, or to any per- 
sonage invested with supreme power ; for they have abun- 
dance of counsellors already about them ; nor has any man 
sufficient sagacity, or sufficient knowledge of futurity, for 
the task. Bad counsels, too, often succeed even better than 
good ; since Eortune directs most affairs according to her own 
pleasure. 

But I, in my youth 1 , had a strong desire to be employed 
in affairs of government, and spent much time and labour in 
the study of them ; not merely with a view to the attain- 
ment of office, which many have reached by dishonourable 
means, but with a desire to understand the conduct of affairs 
in peace and war, and the strength of the republic with 
regard to arms, men, and resources. After much delibera- 
tion, therefore, I resolved to think less of my character and 
modesty than of your honour, and to incur any hazard for 
the sake of advancing your glory. This determination I 
formed, not from any rash impulse 2 , or from respect to your 
fortune, but because I have observed in your character one 
quality worthy of admiration above the rest, a greatness of 
mind which is more conspicuous in adverse than in pros- 
perous circumstances. But your merit in this respect is 
sufficiently declared by others ; as men were sooner weary 
of praising and admiring your greatness 3 , than you are of 
performing what is worthy of celebration. 

II. I am, indeed, of opinion, that nothing so arduous can 
be proposed, that it will not be easy to you if your mind be 
applied to it. Nor have I addressed to you my thoughts on 
the state, with the hope of hearing my prudence or ability 
unduly commended, but with a wish to call your attention, 
amidst the labours of war 4 , amidst battles, victories, and the 

1 I. But I, in my youth, cjrc] Compare Cat., c. iii. 

2 Not from any rash impulse] Non temere. Doubtless not ; for the preceding 
sentence says that the resolution was formed by him "niulta cum animo agitanti, 
" after much deliberation." 

3 Your greatness] Munificentiam tuam. Cortius proposes 7na.g?iificentiam, 
which the sense seems to require. 

4 II. Labours of war] Labores militia. Those who have imagined this epistle 






TWO EPISTLES TO JULIUS CESAB. 255 

cares of command, to the concerns of the city. Eor if you 
hare no other aim than to take revenge on your enemies for 
their attacks 1 , and to retain the favours of the people 2 
against an adverse consul 3 , you are far from meditating what 
is worthy of your ability. But if that spirit still remains in 
you, which, from the first, disconcerted the ■ faction of the 
nobility 4 , and raised the Eoman people from oppressive 
slavery to the full enjoyment of liberty; which, in your 
prsetorship, baffled, without arms 5 , the army of your adver- 

to be genuine, consider it to Lave been written a.u.c. 704, when Marcellus and 
Lentnlus were consuls, and when Caesar was with the army in Gaul. 

1 To take revenge on jour enemies for their attacks] Uti te ab inimzcorum 
irnpetu vindices. " Vindicare se ab aliquo, signifies to avenge himself upon any- 
one." Gordon. Not always. But there are examples of this signification. See 
Sen. Benef., vi., 5. Vindicate ab injuriis magistratuum provincial, Veil. Pat., 
ii., 126. 

2 Favours of the people] Beneficia populi. "Alluding to prolonged command 
of the army, and the privilege of being a candidate for the consulship in his 
absence." Burnouf. 

3 An adverse consul] Adverswn comulem. " He means Lentulus. See Cass., 
B. C, i., 1, 2." Cortius. Most other commentators agree with him. 

4 Which, from the first, disconcerted the faction of the nobility] Qui jam a 
principio nobilitatis f actionem disturbavit. " This may refer to what Suetonius 
says in his Life of Caesar, c. v. : ' After he was made a military tribune, .... 
he vigorously supported the advocates for restoring the tribunitial authority, 
which had been very much reduced by Sylla ;' and c. xi. : ' He engaged a part of 
the tribunes, in a design to procure for him the province of Egypt by a vote of the 
people, .... but he could not carry his point, from the opposition made by the 
nobility. In order, therefore, to lessen their authority by all the means in his 
power, he again set up the trophies erected in honour of Caius Marius, on account 
of his conquest of Jugurtha, and of the Cimbri and Teutones, which had formerly 
been demolished by Sylla.' " Burnouf. 

5 Baffled, without arms, cj-c] In prceturd armis inimicorum inermis disjecit. 
Burnouf refers to Suetonius, J. Caesar, c. xvi. : " He likewise stood very resolutely 
by Csecilius Metellus, tribune of the commons, hi his preferring some very sedi- 
tious bill to the people, in spite of all opposition from his colleagues, till they were 
both by a vote of the house displaced. He ventured, notwithstanding, to continue 

-in his office of administering justice ; but finding some prepared to hinder him by 
force of arms, he dismissed his officers, threw off his gown, and got privately 
home, with a resolution to be quiet, since the times ran so strong against him. 
He likewise pacified the mob, that in two days after gathered about him, and in a 
riotous manner offered him their assistance for the vindication of his honour. 
Which happening contrary to expectation, the senate, who had met in all haste 
upon occasion cf this tumult, gave him their thanks by some of the leading mem - 
l hers of the house, sent for him, and after they had highly commended his 
I behaviour, cancelled their former vote, and restored him to his place." Clarke's 
Translation. 



256 SALLTTST. 

saries ; and which has achieved such eminent and illustrious 
actions, both at home and in the field, that not even your 
detractors complain of anything but your greatness, accept 
the suggestions which I offer to you ^concerning the govern- 
ment of the state, and which you will find, I trust 1 , either 
consonant with' propriety, or not greatly at variance with it. 
III.. Since Pompey, either from deficiency of judgment, or 
from perversely preferring what was to his own injury 2 , has 
committed such an error as to put arms into the hands of 
his enemies 3 , it must be your part to settle the state in those 
particulars 4 in which he has disordered it. First of all, he 
gave to a few senators unlimited authority with regard to 
the revenues, disbursements, and judicial proceedings, but 
left the Roman commonalty, who had the supreme power 
before, in a state of slavery under laws which were not even 
equal for all. Though the judicial power has been appointed 
to the three orders 5 , as before, yet the same faction still 
governs, giving and taking away as they please ; oppressing 
the innocent, and raising their partisans to honour ; while 
no wickedness, no dishonesty or disgrace, is a bar to the 
attainment of office ; whatever appears desirable, they seize 
and render their own, and make their will and pleasure their 
law, as arbitrarily as victors in a conquered city. I should 
be, comparatively, but little concerned, if the superiority 
which they exercise, according to their custom, for the en- 
slaving of others 6 , had been obtained by their own merit; 
but they are the basest of mankind, whose magnanimity 

1 1 trust] Profectb. 

2 III. Preferring what was to his own injury] Quia nihil maluit quam quod 
sibi obesset. Sibi is the reading of Cortius ; Havercamp's, and several other 
editions, have tibi, which, indeed, seems to suit better with the animi pravitaie 
which precedes. The sense will then be, " that Pompey acted either from want of 
judgment, or from a desire to oppose Caesar." Cortius's note on sibi obesset is, 
" The writer refers to that obstinacy of Pompey, with which he rejected all terms 
of peace and concord, when Caesar was inclined to settle matters amicably." 

3 To put arms into the hands of his enemies] Ut hostibus tela in manus jacereL 
" Compelling his enemies to take up arms." Cortius. But the expression may 
be figurative. 

4 In those particulars, cjc] Quibus ille rebus rempublicam conturbavit, eisdem 
tibi restituendum est. " Les points de droit public qu'il a renverses, sont ceux 
que vous avez d'abord a redresser." De Brosses. 

5 To the three orders] Tribus ordinibus. By a law of L. Aurelius Cotta, 
A.u.c. G84, the right of being judices was given to the senators, equites, and 
tribuni cerarii. 

6 Of others] Alterius. The singular for the plural. 



TWO EPISTLES TO JULIUS CffiSAK. 257 

and virtue lie wholly in their tongue, and who abuse with 
insolence an ascendency conceded to them only by chance 
and the supineness of others. For what sedition, or civil 
dissension, has ever ruined so many illustrious families? 
Or whose violence, even in the moment of victory, has ever 
been so headstrong and immoderate ? 

IY. Sylla, to whom the utmost licence was granted by the 
law of war, and who was conscious that his party would be 
strengthened by cutting off his enemies, yet, after putting to 
death a few, sought to secure the rest rather by kindness 
than by terror. But, at the present period, not only Cato, 
Lucius Domitius 1 , and others of that party, but forty sena- 
tors, and many young men of excellent promise, have been 
slaughtered like victims for sacrifice ; and yet this merciless 
band of men, after shedding the blood of so many miserable 
citizens, could not by any means feel satisfied ; neither father- 
less children, nor aged parents, neither the groans of men, 
nor the wailings of women, could affect their unrelenting 
hearts ; but they proceeded daily with increased bitterness, 
both in their deeds and their words, degrading some from 
their rank, and expelling others from their country. Need 
I make any allusion to yourself, whose humiliation these 
basest of men would purchase even with their lives ? Their 
own power, indeed, though it fall into their hands unex- 
pectedly, produces them less pleasure than your elevation 
causes pain ; and they would rather bring liberty into danger 
by your downfal, than see the Roman empire raised by your 
efforts to the highest pitch of greatness. It is the more 
incumbent on you, therefore, to consider, again and again, 
how you may establish and secure the state. For myself, 

1 IV. Not only Cato, Lucius Domitius, <Jc] At hercle nunc cum Catone, 
L. Domitio, cceterisque ejusdem factionis, quadraginta senatores — mactati sunt. 
I have given the exact sense of the passage as it stands in Cortius and Buraouf. 
But the text cannot be correct, unless we suppose that some other Cato and 
Domitius are meant than those mentioned in c. ix. ; for the writer would hardly 
have forgotten himself so far as to speak of the same men as both dead and alive 
within so short a space; though Gerlach thinks even this possible; see his 
remarks prefixed. De Brosses tacitly translates the passage as if it were nunc a 
Catone, tfc. : "Aujourd'hui unCaton, un Domitius, et les autres de cette faction, 
ont fait massacrer comme des victimes quarante senateurs," #c. ; and Cooke 
and Rowe render the passage in a similar way. The Abbe Thyvon proposes to 
read Carbone, a name joined with that of Domitius in the second Epistle ; and he 
may be right ; but to correct compositions of no authority is only waste of time. 

- S 



258 SALLTJST. 

I shall not hesitate to express what arises in my mind ; but 
it will be for your judgment to decide how far my sugges- 
tions are consistent with reason and worthy of adoption. 

V. I regard the state as divided, according to the notion 
that I have received of it from our ancestors, into two parts, 
the ga&rj gians and the plebeians 1 . The supreme authority 
was originally in the hands of the patricians, but the ple- 
beians had always by far the greater power. On several 
occasions, in consequence, a secession took place ; and the 
power of the nobility was from time to time diminished, and 
the privileges of the people augmented. But the liberty of 
the commons chiefly lay in this, that no man's power was 
above that of the laws ; the nobleman outshone the plebeian, 
not in wealth or ostentatiousness, but in high character and 
honourable deeds ; the meanest citizen, whether engaged in 
agriculture or war, wanted nothing that was proper for his 
condition, nor was wanting to himself or to his country. 
But when the people were gradually deprived of their lands 2 , 
and idleness and want left them without settled habitations, 
they began to covet other men's property, and to regard 
their liberty, and the interests of their country, as objects 
for sale. That people, accordingly, which had been as a 
sovereign, and had governed all nations, became gradually 
degenerate ; and, instead of maintaining their common domi- 
nion, brought on themselves individual servitude. Such a 
multitude, therefore, not only infected with vicious principles, 
but distracted by different pursuits and modes of life, and 
without any true principle of cohesion, appears to me by no 
means fit to have the government of the state. But, if a 
number of new citizens be added to the old, I should have 
great hope that they would all be roused to a sense of liberty ; 
for the new will be anxious to preserve their freedom, and 
the old to shake off their slavery. These new citizens, 
united with some of the old ones, you should, I think, settle 
in colonies ; by which means the army will be better sup- 
plied 3 , and the lower order of people, being engaged in useful 

1 V. The patricians and the plebeians] Palres } et plebem. By patres he does 
not mean merely the senate, but all the nobility. 

2 Deprived of their lands] See Jug., c. xli., and the 6th Fragment. 

3 Army — better supplied] Res militaris opulentior erit. Somewhat obscure. 
" If the body of citizens were increased, and colonists taken from the proktarii, 
levies of troops would be made from a larger number." Burnouf. 



TWO EPISTLES TO JULIUS CESAR. 259 

occupations, will no longer think of raising public disturb- 
ances. 

/YI. I am not ignorant or unaware how great a fury and 
storm, if such a scheme be adopted, will arise on the part of 
. the nobility, who will cry out, with indignation, that the 
foundation of the constitution is undermined ; that the yoke 
of slavery 1 is imposed on the old citizens ; and that, if so vast a 
number be added by the appointment of an individual, the re- 
public will be converted from a free state into a monarchy. My 
own opinion, upon any such matter, is this : that though he is 
guilty of a crime who seeks popularity at the expense of the 
commonwealth, yet that when a benefit to the public is also an 
advantage to the individual conferring it, to hesitate to bestow 
it is to incur the charge of irresolution and pusillanimity. 
Marcus Livius Drusus 2 , when he was tribune of the people, 
made it his aim to support, with his utmost efforts, the 
interests of the nobility ; nor did he intend, at the first, to 
carry any measures but such as they should sanction. But 
a faction, to whom treachery and dishonesty were dearer than 
honour, perceiving that a vast obligation 3 was to be conferred 
by one man upon many, and each knowing himself to be un- 
principled and faithless, judged the character of Drusus by 
their own, and, suspecting that he might make himself sove- 
reign by the favours he meant to bestow, formed a league 
against him, and overthrew both their own schemes and his 4 . 

1 VI. Yoke of slavery] Servitutem. " They will think that to adopt so many 
new citizens will be to oppress the old." Burnouf, 

2 Marcus Livius Drusus] " Marcus Livius Drusus was a man of noble birth, of 
great eloquence, and of unblemished character, but was distinguished, in all his 
undertakings, more by ability than success. In his tribunate, he wished to restore 
to the senate its former honours, and to transfer the judicial power from the 
knights to the senators, but found the senate adverse to him in those very mat- 
ters which he projected for its benefit, not understanding that what he proposed, 
at the same time, for the advantage of the plebeians, was proposed only for the 
sake of inducing them, on receiving small gratifications, to concede greater to 
others. Being thus unsuccessful, he turned his thoughts to the extension of the 
civic franchise to the whole of the inhabitants of Italy. But in the course of his 
proceedings, as he was returning from the forum, surrounded by that strange and 
innumerable multitude which always attended him, he was stabbed with a knife 
in the hall of his own house, and died in a few hours." Veil. Pat., ii., 13. See also 
Flor., ih\, 17. 

3 A vast obligation] Maximum beneficium. The civic franchise. 

4 Both their own schemes and his] Sua et ipsius consilia. This is the reading of 

all 



260 SALLUST. 

Irom this example, general, you will see that you must 
secure for yourself, with greater care than Drusus, many 
faithful friends 1 and supporters. VII. To repel an open 
enemy, is, to a man of courage, a task of no great difficulty ; 
to work secret mischief, or to guard against it, enters not 
into the character of a man of honour. 

Since, when you have introduced these additional citizens, 
the commons will be re-established, you must then make it 
your chief concern that_good morals may be cultivated, and 
that concord may be secured between the old citizens and the 
new. Eut the greatest service that you can confer on your 
country, your fellow-citizens, yourself, your posterity, and, 
indeed, on the whole human race, will be to extirpate, or at 
least to diminish as far as circumstances will permit, the 
excessive love of money ; otherwise neither public nor pri- 
vate affairs, neither matters of peace nor of war, can be 
properly conducted; for when the passion for wealth has 
become prevalent, neither morals nor talents are proof 
against it, but every mind, sooner or later, yields to its influ- 
ence. I have often heard of kings, and states, and nations, 
who have lost, in the height of opulence, vast power which 
they had gained in days of poverty and virtue. Nor is this 
at all a matter of wonder; for when a man of worth sees 
•another, who is far his inferior, more distinguished and 
caressed on account of his wealth, he is at first indignant, 
and greatly perplexed in his thoughts ; but when he finds 
that pomp, day after day, gains fresh triumphs over true 
honour, and riches over merit, his mind at length revolts 
from virtue to pleasure. Virtuous exertion is fostered by 
the honour attendant on it ; but if the honour be withheld, 
the struggles of virtue become but unpleasing and unsatis- 
factory. Wherever wealth is held in esteem, all praiseworthy 
-qualities, as integrity, probity, moderation, and temperance, 
are despised. For to honest eminence there is but one path, 

Cortius and Burnouf. Havercamp and others have sua ipsius, which, though in- 
defensible Latin for ejus ipsius, makes better sense ; for what schemes of the 
nobility are meant, or why any allusion is made to them, is not apparent. 

1 With greater care — many faithful friends, cfc] Majore curd fideque amid et 
multa prcesidia paranda sunt. " Fide is vox nihili; for what is major e fide 
quavrere? But the writer seems to have referred curd to quayr ere, said fide to 
■amid, as if exhorting Csesar to seek amicos major e fide" Cortius, 



TWO EPISTLES TO JULIUS C^SAE. 261 

and that a difficult one; but wealth every man pursues in 
his own way, and it is acquired as successfully by disrepu- 
table as by honourable means. Let it be your first care, 
therefore, to diminish the influence of money ; let no one 
be thought more or less qualified, on account of his wealth, 
to pronounce judgment on the lives or characters of his 
fellow-citizens ; nor let any one be chosen prsetor or consul 
from regard to fortune, but to merit. In the choice of 
- magistrates, however, let the judgment of the people be 
uncontrolled. As to judges 1 , to have them elected by a few, 
is to establish a despotism ; to make their appointment 
dependent on money, is a disgrace to the nation. I would 
therefore consider all of the first class 2 qualified for the 
judicature, but would have the number of judges greater 
than it is at present. Neither the Ehodians, nor any other- 
people, where rich and poor, as the lot fell to each, decided 
indiscriminately on the greatest and smallest matters, were 
ever dissatisfied with their tribunals. But as to the election 
of magistrates, I am very well content with the law which 
Caius Gracchus proposed in his tribuneship, that out of the 
five classes promiscuously, the centuries should be taken by 
lot to give their votes. Thus all being made equal in poli- 
tical influence, whatever be their wealth 8 , their care will be 
to surpass one another in real merit. 

VIII. These are the great remedies which I propose 

1 As to judges, §c.~\ Judices. The judices of the Romans rather resembled 
our jurymen than judges. " The number of the judices was different, at different 
times. By the law of Gracchus, 300 ; of Servilius, 450 ; of Drusus, 600 ; of 
Plautius, 525 ; of Sylla and Cotta, 300, as it is thought from Cic. Fam., viii., 8 ; 
of Pompey, 360, Paterc, ii., 76. Under the emperor, the number of judices was 
greatly increased. Plin., xxxiii., 1." Adam's Rom. Ant., p. 236. These were the 
numbers out of which the judices for any trial might be chosen. " The Lex 
Servilia enacted that the judices should not be under thirty, nor above sixty, 
years of age ; that the accuser and accused should severally propose one hundred 
judices, and that each might reject fifty from the list of the other; so that one 
hundred would remain for the trial." Dr. Smith's Diet., Art. Judex. 

2 The first class] See Jug., c. lxxxvi. 

3 Made equal in political inflaence, whatever be their wealth] Cocequati digni- 
tate, pecunid. " The conjunctions being omitted, according to the practice of 
Sallust. Yet cocequati, non pecunid, sed dignitate would be better. Perhaps the 
writer himself omitted sed, and this omission might have afterwards led to that 
of non" Cortius. This conjecture is not very probable. 



262 SALLTTST. 

against the influence of money. For everything is praised 
and coveted according to the advantages attendant on it. 
Vice is instigated to action by the prospect of gain ; and, 
when this inducement is removed, no man on earth is gra- 
tuitously wicked. Avarice, indeed, is ravenous and insa- 
tiable as a beast of prey ; wherever it spreads its influence, 
it devastates alike the city and the country, the temple and 
the dwelling-house, and tramples on all obligations human 
and divine; neither armies nor fortifications can resist its 
pervading influence ; it despoils men of character and repu- 
tation, of children, country, and parents. Tet, if the honour 
paid to wealth be diminished, the vast influence even of 
avarice might be subdued by the encouragement of virtuous 
habits. But though all, whether good or bad, will acknow- 
ledge that such is likely to be the case, you will yet have to 
encounter violent opposition from the factious spirit of the 
nobility. If you but counteract their intrigues, however, all 
that remains will be accomplished with ease. The nobility, 
it is certain, if they could maintain their ascendancy by 
honourable means, would rather emulate the virtuous than 
envy them ; but as sloth, indolence, dullness, and stupidity, 
have taken possession of them, they have recourse to slander 
and detraction, regarding the fame of another as infamy to 
themselves. 

IX. Eut why should I say more of their characters, as if 
they were unknown to you ? What energy, or intellectual 
power, Marcus Bibulus 1 possesses, has been shown in his 
consulship ; a man slow in speech, and, however deceitful at 
heart, still more corrupt. What would he venture to do, 
whose consulship, the highest of offices, was a supreme dis- 
honour ? Is there much power in Lucius Domitius 2 , whose 
every member is infected with turpitude and vice, whose 
tongue is boastful, whose hands are stained with blood, 
whose feet are those of a coward ; while the parts of him 
which cannot decently be named, are indecency itself. One 

1 IX. Marcus Bibulus] "M. Calpurnius Bibulus was consul with Julius 
Caesar, a.u.c. 695." Burnouf. 

2 Lucius Domitius] " L. Domitius Ahenobarbus was consul A.u.c. 700. He 
was opposed to Ccesar in the civil war, and died on the field of Pharsalia." 
Burnouf. 



TWO EPISTLES TO JULIUS CJSSAB. 263 

of the party indeed, Marcus Cato 1 , 1 do not despise, as lie 
has talent for artifice, eloquence, and prudent management ; 
qualities which are attained in the school of the Greeks ; 
but among the Greeks are not to be found fortitude, vigi- 
lance, or industry ; and since, through their want of spirit, 
they have lost their liberty at home, is it possible to imagine 
that an empire can be sustained by their precepts ? The 
rest are the dullest of the nobility, who, like statues, add 
nothing to their party but their names. Such persons as 
Lucius Posthumius and Marcus Favonius 3 seem to me like 
additional lading in a large vessel, beyond its ordinary 
freight ; lading which, if the crew arrive safe, may be turned 
to account, but which if a storm arises, is the first thing to 
be thrown overboard, as being of the least value. 

X. Having now said sufficient, as I think, concerning the 
restoration and improvement of the commons, I shall next 
suggest to you what is to be done in relation to the senate. 

Ever since I came to maturity of years and understand- 
ing, I have exercised myself but little with arms and horses, 
but have applied my mind to the acquisition of knowledge ; 
that part of me which was naturally the stronger, I culti- 
vated with the greater diligence. And by much reading 
and attention during the course of my life, I have learned 
that every kingdom, state, and nation, has maintained a 
prosperous government as long as wise counsels prevailed 
in it ; but that when interest, timidity, or pleasure, vitiated 
its measures, its power was soon diminished, its authority 
lost, and the yoke of slavery at last imposed upon it. I 
have also seen good reason to believe, that whoever has a 
higher station, and more exalted honour in a state, than 
those around him, feels more interest in its welfare. Others, 

1 Cato] These strictures on Cato can hardly have proceeded from the same 
hand that wrote his character in the conspiracy of Catiline. " But Sallust," says 
Burnouf, " wrote that character of Cato after his death, and therefore with 
greater indulgence." 

2 Lucius Posthumius and Marcus Favonius] " Who L. Posthumius was is 
uncertain. M. Favonius was a man of upright character, and not without pru- 
dence or fortitude ; he was a great admirer and imitator of Cato, whose dress he 
even copied. ... He was taken prisoner in the battle of Philippi, and soon 
afterwards put to death. Plut. in Brut, et Pomp., Dion, xxxix., xl., xlvii.'' 
Burnouf. 



264 SALLUST. 

by upholding the government, preserve only their liberty ; 
but he who by merit has gained wealth, respect, or honour, 
finds himself, if the state show the least symptoms of de- 
cline, disquieted with numberless cares and anxieties; he 
thinks of defending his rank, his liberty, or his property ; he 
becomes vigilant and active 1 ; and the higher he rose in 
prosperity, the greater is his trouble and anxiety at the 
prospect of adversity. 

Since, then, the commonalty are subservient to the senate, 
as the body to the mind, and act according to its directions, 
the senators should be distinguished for their wisdom; in 
the people much understanding may not be requisite. "With 
this conviction, our ancestors, even when they suffered from 
the most disastrous wars, and had lost horses, troops, and 
money, never ceased to maintain the contest for empire; 
neither the exhaustion of the treasury, the successes of the 
enemy, nor the frowns of fortune, could subdue their firm 
resolution to preserve to their last breath what their valour 
had acquired; and their ultimate successes were secured 
rather by able counsels than by fortunate battles. In their 
days, indeed, the republic was united ; all consulted for its 
interests ; combinations were formed only against enemies ; 
and every individual exerted himself, both in body and mind, 
not for his own aggrandisement, but for the welfare of his 
country. But in these times, on the contrary, a few nobles, 
whose minds timidity and indolence have possessed, unac- 
quainted with toil, with an enemy, or with any kind of 
warfare, but leagued in a party at home, arrogantly usurp 
authority over the world ; while the senate, by whose coun- 
sels the state, when in difficulty, was formerly supported, 
is overawed, and fluctuates hither and thither at the plea- 
sure of others, decreeing sometimes one thing and some- 
times another, and deciding what is good or evil for the 
public, according to the animosity or presumption of those 
who rule the hour. 

XI. But if all had equal liberty of action, or if their votes 
could be given with greater privacy, the public interest 
would have greater weight, and the influence of the nobility 
would be diminished. Since to make the voices of all equal, 
however, would be difficult (for to the nobility the merits 
1 X. He becomes vigilant and active] Omnibus locis adest; festinat. 



TWO EPISTLES TO JULIUS CESAR. 265 

of their ancestors have left glory, rank, and patronage, 
while most of the other senators have but recently attained 
their dignity 1 ), it will be proper to set the opinions of all 
free from the influence of fear; and thus each, voting 
secretly, will act on his own judgment rather than be 
swayed by the authority of another. Freedom of action is < 
desirable alike to the good and the bad, the bold and the 
timid ; but too many relinquish it from want of spirit, and, 
while a contest is still doubtful, foolishly submit to a de- 
cision of it against themselves, as if they were already 
worsted. 

There are two expedients, then, by which I think that the 
power of the senate may be increased ; if it be augmented in 
numbers, and if the senators vote with tablets 2 . The tablet 
will be as a screen, under which each may take courage to 
vote with greater freedom ; and in additional numbers there 
will be additional security and advantage to the state. For 
on most occasions, in the present day, some of the senators 
who are engaged in the public courts, and others who are 
occupied with their private affairs or those of their friends, 
do not give their attendance at the councils of the govern- 
ment ; and many, indeed, are kept away not more by business 
than by tyrannical influence. Thus a faction of the nobles, 
with a few senators who support them, approve, condemn^ 
and decree whatever they please, and act as caprice dictates. 
But when the number of the senators shall be increased, 
and the votes given by tablet, the ruling party will be com- 
pelled to abate their haughtiness, and to cringe to those 
over whom they have mercilessly domineered. 

XII. Perhaps, general, on perusing this letter, you will 

1 XI. Most — have but recently attained their dignity] Cetera multitudo 7 
pleraque insititia sit. " Having spoken of the patricians, and other nobles, he 
calls the rest of the multitude insititia, inserted or engrafted." Cortius. 

2 Vote with tablets] Per tabellam. Or, in modern phrase, byhallot. This 
mode of voting was adopted by the Romans in the comitia and courts of justice 
In the comitia, when a law was to be passed or rejected, each citizen was provided 
with two tabellw, one inscribed with the letters V. R., Uti rogas, " I vote as you 
desire ;" the other with A., Antiquo, " I vote for the former state of things." In 
the courts of justice, each judex had three tdbellce, one marked with A., Absofoo, 
"I acquit;" another with C, Condemno, "I condemn;" and the third with 
N. L., Non liquet, " The matter is not clear to me." These tablets were dropped 
into a cista, or ballot-box. 



266 SALLTTST. 

wish to know of what number I would have the senate consist, 
and how the senators maybe appointed to their numerous and 
varied duties ; and since I would commit the judicial authority 
to the first class of citizens 1 , what distribution should be 
made, and what number of judges should be appointed to 
each particular kind of cause. All these particulars it would 
not be difficult to give in detail ; but I thought it proper 
first to settle the general plan, and to endeavour to convince 
you of its reasonableness ; if you resolve to act on my sug- 
gestions, minor points will be easily arranged. I would wish 
my scheme to be one of prudence and utility ; for, wherever 
success shall attend you, reputation will thence accrue to 
me. But the chief desire which actuates me is, that the 
state, whatever plan be adopted, may as soon as possible be 
benefited. The liberty of my country I value far more 
highly than my own fame ; and I entreat and implore, that 
you, our most illustrious commander, after having subdued 
the people of Gaul, will not suffer the mighty and uncon- 
quered empire of Eome to sink into decay, or to fall to 
pieces by the effect of discord. Assuredly, if this should 
happen, neither night nor day 2 will bring you quiet, but. 
harassed with want of rest, you will be disturbed, distracted, 
and driven to despair. For I consider it as a certain truth, 
that the lives of all men are under the eye of a divine 
power ; and that no deed, good or evil, is without its con- 
sequences, but that different recompenses, according to the 
nature of their actions, attend the virtuous and the vicious. 
Such retribution may be slow in coming ; but the breast of 
every one, from the state of his conscience, assures him what 
he is to expect. 

XIII. Could your country, or your ancestors, address you, 
they would doubtless admonish you in such words as these : 
"¥e, the bravest of the human race, raised you up, O Caesar, 

1 XII. To the first class of citizens] Burnouf gives this passage, judicia 
quoniam omnibus primce classis mittenda putem, on the authority of Carrio, who 
says that he found this reading in one of the Vatican manuscripts. Havercamp and 
Cortius have quoniam primce classis mittenda putem, of which they offer no expla- 
nation. Lipsius proposes to read primce classi committenda, whieli Cortius ap- 
proves. Mittenda, in Carrio's reading, must be taken in the sense of committenda . 

2 Neither night nor day, tj-c] Dreadful threatenings ; stronger, assuredly, than 
Sallust would have used. 



TWO EPISTLES TO JULIUS C^ISAE. 267 

in the most excellent of cities, to be an honour and defence 
to us, and a terror to our enemies. "What we had acquired 
by many toils and dangers, we bestowed on you at the 
moment of your birth ; a country, the mistress of the world ; 
an illustrious family and descent in it ; distinguished talents; 
honourable wealth ; all the ornaments of peace, and all the 
glories of war. In return for these ample gifts, we ask of 
you nothing disgraceful or vicious, but the restoration of 
subverted liberty ; by the achievement of which, assuredly, 
the fame of your virtues will be extended throughout the 
world. At present, though you have performed illustrious 
actions at home and in the field, yet your glory is only equal 
with that of other heroic characters ; but, should you restore 
a city of the highest name, and of the most extensive power, 
almost from ruin, who will be more renowned, who really 
greater than yourself, on the face of the earth ? If, however, 
through internal decay, or the appointment of fate 1 , this 
empire should fall to destruction, who can doubt but that 
devastation, war, and bloodshed, will overspread the whole 
earth ? But if you, on the other hand, feel a generous desire 
to obey your country and your ancestors, your fame here- 
after, when the state is re-established, will be acknowledged 
superior to that of all men, and your death, by peculiar 
felicity 2 , will be more glorious than your life. For some- 
times fortune, and very frequently envy, depresses the living ; 
but, when life has paid its debt to nature, and detraction is 
at an end, true merit raises itself more and more." 

What I thought conducive to the public good, and believed 
likely to be of advantage to yourself, I have written in as 
few words as I could 3 . I now beseech the immortal gods, 
that, in whatever way you may act, your endeavours may be 
attended with prosperity to yourself and your country. 

1 XIII. Through internal decay, or the appointment of fate] Morbo jam out 
fato. Dureau Delamalle refers morbo to Caesar, but is doubtless in the wrong. 
De Brosses takes the passage in the sense which I have given. 

2 By peculiar felicity, <J*c.] Tuaque unius mors vita clarior erit. " Why did he 
say tua unius? Because he wished to signify that Caesar was the only man who. 
when dead, would be more famous than when alive." Burnouf. But did this 
never happen to any other man ? Would Sallust have so expressed himself ? 

3 In as few words as I could ] Quam paucissumis potui. Will any reader 
assent to this assertion of the writer ? The same expression is used at the end of 
the following epistle. 



268 SALLUST. 



EPISTLE II. 

I. It was formerly admitted as certain, that Fortune be- 
stows kingdoms and empires, as well as other objects equally 
coveted among mankind, of her own free gift ; since they are 
| often found, as if distributed by caprice, in the hands of the 
unworthy; nor do they remain unvitiated in the posses- 
sion of any one. But experience has taught the truth of 
what Appius 1 has said in his verses, that Every one is the 
architect of Ms oivn fortune; a sentiment which is pre- 
eminently exemplified in yourself, who have so much sur- 
passed others, that men are sooner weary of applauding your 
actions, than you of performing what is worthy of applause. 

But power attained by merit, must, like a fabric of archi- 
tecture, be sustained with the greatest care ; lest it suffer 
injury through neglect, or sink for want of support. For 
no man willingly concedes supreme authority to another; 
and however just and merciful a ruler may be, yet, as he has 
the power to do injury, he is still dreaded. This state of 
things arises from the circumstance, that the greater part of 
sovereigns act with indiscretion, and think that their power 
is increased in proportion as their subjects are demoralised 2 . 
Eut, on the contrary, it should be his care, when he himself 
is good and brave, to have those under his sway as virtuous 
as possible ; for the most vicious always submit to a ruler 
with least patience. 

Eor you, however, it is more difficult, than for any who 
have gone before you, to settle properly what you have 

1 I. Appius] This Appius was Appius Claudius Cascus, who made the Appian 
way. His verses were composed, as appears from Cicero, in the manner of the 
golden verses of Pythagoras, and were praised by Panaetius in a letter to Tubero. 

See Cic. Tusc. Disp., iv., 2. 

2 As their subjects are demoralised] " This has been a constant mistake among 
rulers. ' Former princes,' says Pliny (Paneg., c. 45), * looked with more pleasure 
on the vices than on the virtues of the citizens ; not only because every one is 
pleased to see a resemblance to his own character in another, but because rulers. 
think that those will bear the yoke of slavery with patience who are fitted only to 
be slaves.' .... 

Intimide et corromps ; c'est ainsi que Ton regne, 

says Sejanus to Tiberius, in Chenier's Tibere, Act I., sc;4. See also Montesquieu's 
' Spirit of Laws,' iii., 5, and Sail. Cat., c. 7." Burnouf. 



TWO EPISTLES TO JULIUS C^ESAB. 269 

acquired. You have conducted a war with greater mildness 
than others have governed in peace; and, in addition, the 
victorious party are expecting the advantages of conquest, 
while the vanquished are your fellow-citizens. Amidst these 
difficulties you will have to steer your course, and must 
strengthen the state, with a view to the future, not merely 
with arms, or against enemies, but, what is a greater and 
more arduous task, with the salutary arts of peace. The 
crisis, therefore, calls on every man, whether of great or 
moderate abilities, to offer you the best advice in his power. 
And, in my opinion, in whatever way you may use your vic- 
tory, the future fortune of the state will be in conformity 
with it. 

II. That you may settle matters more advantageously and 
easily, give your attention to a few suggestions which my 
mind prompts me to offer. You have had to conduct a war, 
general, with a man of high reputation, of vast resources, of 
inordinate eagerness for power, but more indebted to fortune 
than to wisdom ; a man whom a small party followed, con- 
sisting of such as had become your enemies from having 
injured you 1 , or of such as were attached to himself by rela- 
tionship or personal obligation. jN'o one of them was a sharer 
in his power ; for, could he have endured a rival, the world 
would not have been convulsed with war. The rest attended 
him rather after the way of the multitude than from their 
own judgment, each, indeed, following his neighbour as if he 
were wiser than himself. At the same time, a set of men 
whose whole lives had been polluted with infamy and licen- 
tiousness, and who were inspired, by the malicious reports 
of the ill- designing, with the hope of usurping the govern- 
ment, flocked into your camp, and openly threatened all who 
remained neutral, with death, spoliation, and all the excesses 
of wanton depravity. Of whom the greater number, when 
they saw that you would neither cancel their debts 2 , nor 

1 II. From having injured you] Per suam injuriam tibi irrimici. " Per suam 
injuriam, i.e., because they had done injury to you, for, as Tacitus says (Agric, 
c. 42), Proprium humani ingenii est odisse quern Iceseris." Burnouf. Cortius 
interprets similarly. 

2 Cancel their debts] Creditum condonare. " For Creditam pecuniam condo- 
nare, or to make an abolition of debts ; but this phrase is not Sallustian, nor, 
indeed, Ciceronian." Cortius. 



270 SALLTJST. 

treat your fellow-citizens as enemies, gradually fell away; 
the few that remained were men, who, from the vast body of 
creditors that threatened them, would find more peace in the 
camp than at Rome. But, from the same motives, it is 
almost incredible how many persons of high rank afterwards 
went over to Pompey, and found his protection, during the 
whole course of the war, a sacred and inviolable sanctuary. 

III. (But since you are now, as conqueror, to determine 
concerning war and peace, so as to put an end to the one like 
a friend of your country, and to establish the other on a 
just and lasting basis, consider first, with regard to your own 
conduct, (since it is on you that the settlement of the state 
depends,) what will be the best measures for you to adopt. 
For my own part, I think that all power, tyrannically exer- 
cised, is irksome to its possessor rather than durable; and 
that no man excites a dread of himself in the many, without 
feeling a reciprocal dread of the many in himself ; and to live 
thus, is, at it were, to be engaged in a perpetual and uncer- 
tain warfare, since you can neither feel safe before nor 
behind nor on either side, but are always in peril or fear. 
To those, on the other hand, who temper authority with 
kindness and clemency, all seems smiling and fair ; and they 
gain even greater esteem from enemies than others from their 
own countrymen. And will any say that, by offering you 
such counsel, I seek to diminish the advantages of your vic- 
tory, and am too favourably disposed towards the vanquished? 
Will they make such a charge, merely because I think that 
the same conditions, which both we and our forefathers have 
granted to foreign nations, who were our natural enemies, 
should be allowed to our fellow- citizens, and that slaughter 
should not be expiated with slaughter, and blood with blood, 
according to the practice of barbarians ? 

IV. Has oblivion fallen on those actions, which, a little 
before this war, were made subjects of accusation against 
Pompey and the victorious Sylla ? That Domitius, Carbo, 
Brutus 1 , and others, were put to death, not in arms, nor in 
the field by the laws of war, but when afterwards suing for 

1 IV. Domitius, Carbo, Brutus] "Cn. Domitius, who was defeated and killed 

by Pompey, after the victory of Sylla, in Africa ; Cn. Carbo, who was 

consul with the younger Marius ; and Brutus, the father of the Brutus 

who slew Caesar." Burnouf. 






TWO EPISTLES TO JULIUS OESAB. 271 

inercy, with the most inhuman barbarity? And that the 
Koman populace were butchered like sheep in the Villa 
Publica 1 ? Alas ! before victory was won by you, how savage 
and barbarous were all these secret and sudden massacres of 
citizens, when women and children were seen fleeing into 
the bosom of their husbands or parents, and mourning over 
their desolated homes ! And the same individuals, who then 
took part in those atrocities, would now prompt you to 
similar proceedings ; as if the object of the war had been to 
decide which party should have the unrestrained right of 
committing outrage ; as if you had not rescued the common- 
wealth from destruction, but seized it as a prey ; and as if 
the flower of our army, and the oldest of our veterans, had 
fought against their brothers and parents and children, from 
no other motive than that the most abandoned of men might 
procure, from the calamities of others, the means of gratifying 
their insatiable appetites and passions, and might throw dis- 
grace on your victory, and stain, by their enormities, the 
characters of the worthy men engaged in the same cause. 
In what manner, indeed, and with what modesty, they con- 
ducted themselves, even while the fortune of the contest was 
still doubtful ; or how some, whose age, even in peace, could 
not have allowed of such excesses without scandal, resigned 
themselves, during the course of the war, to debauchery and 
licentiousness, I cannot suppose to have escaped your notice. 
Of the war I have now said sufficient. 

V. But as you, and all your friends, are now thinking of 
the establishment of peace, consider first, I intreat you, the 
nature of the object which you have in view ; and thus, dis- 
tinguishing what is favourable to it from what is unfavour- 
able, you will pursue a proper course towards right measures. 
As everything that rises, falls to decay, I think that when- 
ever the appointed day for the fall of Eome shall arrive, it 
will come at a period in which citizens shall contend with 
citizens, and thus render themselves enfeebled and exhausted, 
a prey to some foreign prince or people ; but that without 
such dissension, the whole world, the strength of all nations 

1 Villa Publica] A building in the Campus Martins in which ambassadors 
from foreign nations were lodged. Florus, hi , 21, says that four thousand were 
slain by Sylla in this edifice; Sen. de Clem., i., 12, says seven thousand. 



272 SALLUST. 

united, would in vain strive to move or shake its power. The 
advantages of concord are therefore to be secured, and the 
evils of discord to be banished. This will be effected, if you 
suppress the licentiousness of extravagance and peculation ; 
not, indeed, by recalling the people to the old regulations 1 , 
which, from the corruption of morals, have long since become 
a jest, but by making every man's income the limit of his 
expenditure ; for such habits have now become prevalent, that 
young men think it highly honourable to squander their own 
property and that of others, and to refuse nothing either 
to their own passions or to the requests of their friends, 
imagining such extravagance to be greatness and nobleness 
of spirit, and regarding temperance and honesty as mere 
pusillanimity. Thus their headstrong passions, immorally 
indulged, are led, when their customary supplies fail, to prey 
sometimes on their allies, and sometimes on their own coun- 
trymen, disturbing the tranquillity of the government, and 
raising new fortunes to repair the ruins of the old 3 . The pro- 
fession of the money-lender, accordingly, should be abolished 
for the future, that each of us may take care of his own 
property. This is the true and only way by which a magis- 
trate may be brought to hold his office for the good of the 
public, and not for that of his creditor, and to show his 
greatness of mind, not by impoverishing the state, but by 
enriching it. 

VI. How unpopular this measure will be at the commence- 
ment, especially among those who expected from victory an 
increase of liberty and licence rather than of restraint, I am 
very well aware. If, however, you consult the welfare of such 
persons rather than their inclinations, you will secure settled 
peace both to them, and us, and our allies. But if the same 
morals and habits be suffered to prevail among the youth, 
your own eminent glory, together with the city of Rome 
itself, will soon fall to nothing. The wise engage in war only 
for the sake of peace, and sustain toil only from the hope of 
rest; and unless you establish peace and quiet on a firm 

1 V. To the old regulations] Ad Vetera inslituta. " The sumptuary laws." 
Cortius. 

2 New fortunes to repair the ruins of the old] Res novas veteribus acquirit. 
The only reasonable explanation of this phrase that has been offered is Burnouf s : 
" Qujerit res novas ad veteres, i.e., res novas, subsidium veteribus." 



TWO EPISTLES TO JULIUS CjESAB. 273 

basis, what difference does it make whether you are defeated 
or victorious ? Take upon yourself, therefore, in the name 
of the gods, the regulation of the state, and surmount all 
difficulties with your accustomed resolution ; for either you 
can heal the wounds of our country, or its cure must be left 
unattempted by every one. Nor does any one, to that end, 
incite you to the infliction of severe penalties or harsh sen- 
tences, by which a state is depopulated rather than corrected, 
but merely to the suppression of corrupt practices and 
licentious indulgences among the youth. This will be true 
clemency, to prevent citizens from being deservedly banished; 
' to restrain them from folly and deceitful pleasures ; to esta- 
blish among them peace and harmony ; and not, by tolerating 
corruption, and conniving at vice, to afford them temporary 
gratification at the expense of suffering that must soon follow. 
VII. As to your success, my mind derives assurance of 
it chiefly from that from which others conceive apprehen- 
sions of it ; I mean, the greatness of the undertaking, and 
the knowledge that the world, both by land and by sea, is to 
be settled by your exertions. So vast a mind as yours 
cannot engage in small matters ; and you are sensible, that 
of a great achievement, great is the reward. It must be 
your care, then, that the populace, who are now demoralised 
by largesses and the public distribution of corn, may occupy 
themselves with their own business, and thus be prevented 
from disturbing the government ; and that the youth may 
turn their attention, not to prodigality and rapacity, but to 
pursuits of honour and utility. This will be brought to 
pass, if you diminish the advantage and honour attendant 
on money, which is the greatest of all evils. For, on fre- 
quently reflecting by what means eminent men had at- 
tained greatness, what conduct had strengthened people or 
nations with great accessions of power 1 , and from what causes 
the mightiest kingdoms and empires had fallen to decay, I 
found that there were invariably the same causes of good and 
evil ; that those who rose had held riches in contempt, and 
those who fell had coveted them. Xo mortal, indeed, can rise 

1 VII. Great accessions of power] All the texts have raagnis auctoribus; but 
as Cortius observes, the sense requires auctionibas^ the conjecture of Carrio, or 
uiictibus. that of Ciacconias. 

T 



274 SALLUST. 

above others, and attain to godlike excellence of character, 
unless he renounce the delights of wealth and sensuality, 
and bestow special care on his mind ; not nattering its vanity, 
indulging its desires, or fostering its perverse propensities, 
but exercising it with labour and patience, with virtuous 
incentives and honourable achievements. 

VIII. For a man to erect a mansion or villa, and to deco- 
rate it with statues, tapestry, and other ornaments, and to 
make everything in it admirable except its possessor, is not to 
render riches an honour to himself, but to be himself a disgrace 
to them. Those, too, who are accustomed to overload their 
stomachs twice a day, and to pass no night without a mistress, 
when they have enslaved the mind that ought to have com- 
manded, in vain seek to employ it, in its inefficient and infirm 
condition, as if it had been wisely improved ; for, from want 
of intellectual power, they mostly ruin alike their schemes 
and themselves. But these, and all other like evils, will have 
an end, if the respect that is paid to money be diminished, 
and if neither offices, nor any objects of general ambition. 
be set to sale. 

Precautions are likewise to be taken for the peace of Italy 
and the provinces ; precautions for which the means are not 
difficult to discover; for the same kind of characters, to 
whom I have previously alluded, extend their ravages every- 
where, abandoning their own homes, and, in violation of all 
law, taking possession of those of others. Tou must also 
see that the military service be no longer unfairly and par- 
tially imposed, as it has hitherto been, some being forced to 
serve for thirty years, and others being wholly exempt from 
service. The corn, too, which has for some time past been 
the reward of idleness, it will be proper to distribute through- 
out the municipal towns and colonies for the use of the 
soldiers, when they return to their homes after having com- 
pleted their term of service. 

What I thought conducive to the good of the country, 
and to your own glory, I have suggested as briefly as the 
subject would allow. It will not be improper for me, I trust, 
to add one observation concerning my attempt. Most men 
have, or pretend to have, sufficient ability to judge of what 
is submitted to them ; but all have so violent propensity 



TWO EPISTLES TO JULIUS C^SAR. 275 

to censure the doings and sayings of others, that scarcely any 
mouth is sufficiently open, or any tongue sufficiently ready, 
to utter the thoughts of their hearts. That I have exposed 
myself to the criticism of such persons, I am not at all con- 
cerned ; on the contrary, I should have grieved had I been 
silent. For whether you proceed in the mode which I have 
suggested, or in any better way, I shall have the pleasure of 
reflecting that I have offered you such advice and assistance 
as I could. It remains only to wish, that, whatever measures 
you may adopt, the immortals may regard them with favour, 
and crown them with success. 



t2 



A DECLAMATION AGAINST CICERO. 

FALSELY ATTRIBUTED TO SALLUST. 



I. Ishould bear your reproaches, Marcus Tullius, with concern and 
indignation, if I thought that you indulged in such insolence from con- 
viction, and not from disease of mind. But perceiving in you neither 
moderation nor modesty, I will give you an answer, in order that, if 
you have received any pleasure from speaking evil of me, you may 
feel it diminished by hearing evil of yourself. 

To whom shall I complain, or before whom shall I lament, Conscript 
Fathers, that our country is despoiled by different parties, and become 
a prey to the dishonesty of the most audacious of mankind? Shall I 

1 Declamation] u In Quintilian there are two references to the Declamation 
(Lib. iv., c. 1, Graviter et iniquo animo, <J'c, and Lib. ix., c. 8, Romule Arpinas\ 
where it is attributed to Sallust. Hence Colomesius thought it might safely be 
inferred that Sallust was the author of it, though Victorius, Lipsius, Vossius, and 
other learned critics, had previously demonstrated that it must have been the 
production of any one rather than Sallust ; as well as that the other Declamation,, 
which is circulated under Cicero's name, could not have been written by Cicero. 
In the latter passage of Quintilian, indeed, the words Romule Arpinas are not 
found in one old MS. that belonged to Almeloveen, as the celebrated Barman 
testifies ; nor can I certainly affirm that those words were written by Sallust. 
Concerning the former passage, too, I have similar doubts. But perhaps some 
small critic (not to say the writer himself, whoever he was, with a view to add 
authority to his piece) may have written the words, as an example, in the margin 
of a MS. of Quintilian ; and they may thence have crept into the text. The 
absence of the words from Almeloveen's MS. in the first passage, and the con- 
struction of the text in the second, make this conjecture not at all improbable. 
But it was a practice among rhetoricians to compose orations in the names of 
illustrious men, as appears from Seneca, from Quintilian, iii., 10, and from other 
passages. The present composition is attributed by Hadrianus Junius de Coma, 
c. 8, to Vibius Crispus ; by Vossius to Porcius Latro. But who can possibly 
bring evidence to settle such a point? The reader may consult Ehenanus on the 
Dialog, de Orator, init.. and Barthius Advers., xxiv., 5. In the recension of the text 
of these Declamations I have made use of five manuscripts, most of which merely 
give the title Sallustius in Ciceronem." Cortius. " If Cortius's conjecture, re- 
specting the words in Quintilian's text, be incorrect, it remains only to suppose 
that after the work of Sallust was lost, the rhetorician, who wrote this Decla- 
mation, incorporated the words which he found in Quintilian into his own com- 
position ." Burnouf. The latter conjecture seems the more probable. 



A DECLAMATION AGAINST CICEEO. 277 

address myself to the Eoman people, who are so corrupted with 
bribes, that they are ready to sell themselves and ail that belongs to 
them ? Or shall I plead before you, Conscript Fathers, whose autho- 
rity is grown a jest to the most infamous and abandoned, and before 
whom Marcus Tullius defends the laws and judgments of the people, 
and exerts his influence with the senate, as if he were the sole re- 
maining descendant of the illustrious Scipio Africanus, and not a person 
who has merely crept into the city, and been recently adopted and 
engrafted into it? But are your deeds, Marcus Tullius, or your words, 
unknown to us t r - Have you not lived in such a manner from your 
boyhood, as to think nothing that gratified another disgraceful to 
yourself ? Did you not learn your extraordinary eloquence, under 
Marcus Piso, at the cost of your modesty? Doubtless; and it is by 
no means surprising that you display to your infamy what with infamy 
you acquired. 
II. But, I suppose, the splendour of your affairs at home exalts your 
/ spirits ; where you have a wife polluted with sacrilege and perjury, and 
\ a daughter who is*a rival to her mother, and more compliant and sub- 
missive to you than she ought to be to a father. Your very home 
itself, thus fatal to you and yours, you secured by force and lawless- 
ness; as if with a view to remind us how much the state is altered, 
when you, a most infamous character, dwell in that^ouse which once 
belonged to Publius Crassus, a man of consular honours. And though 
these things are so, Cicero nevertheless says that he has been at the 
council of the immortal gods 1 , whence he, who turns the disaster of 
the country to his own glory, was despatched as a guardian to our 
city and its inhabitants, and not under the name of executioner 2 : as 
if, forsooth, your consulship itself had not been the cause of the con- 
spiracy, and as if the state had not then been disordered in consequence 
of having you for a protector. But, as I conceive, you must pride 
yourself still more on those measures which you adopted after your 
consulship, in concert with your wife Terentia, when you conducted 
trials at your house under the Plautian law 3 , condemning some of the 
conspirators to death, and others to pay fines ; when one built you a 
Tusculan, another a Pompeian villa 4 , and a third bought you a house ; 
but he who could do nothing for you, was devoted to obloquy; he had 
come to attack your dwelling, or had laid a plot against the senate ; 
and you were quite sure of his guilt. If the charges which I make are 
false, state what property you inherited from your father, how much 

1 At the council .of the immortal gods] "Because Cicero, in most of his 
speeches and harangues, was accustomed to say, Non humanis opibus, nee arte 
magistrd ita reipublicce consultum, sed divind miserationer Badius Ascensius. 

2 Name of executioner] Absque carnificis nomine. "A malicious allusion to 
Cicero's observation, sine ccede et sanguine rempublicam servatam." Badius 
Ascensius. 

3 The Plautian law] See Cat., c. 31. 

4 Tusculan — Pompeian villa] "These are so frequently mentioned in Cicero 
that we might reasonably abstain from making any annotation upon them; the 
reader may, however, consult Epist. ad Att., xiii., 14, and ii., 4." Cvrtius. 



278 A DECLAMATION AGAINST CICERO. 

you have acquired by pleading causes, from what resources you bought 
your house, and reared, at such vast expense, your Tusculan and Pom- 
peian villas. 

III. But, we may suppose, a new man of Arpinum, of the breed of 
Caius Marius, imitates his virtue, contemns the enmity of the nobility, 
holds his country dear, is to be influenced neither by intimidation nor 
by interest; such would be his love for the state, and sucli his virtuous 
| magnanimity 1 . On the contrary, he is a man of the lightest character, 
suppliant to his enemies, insolent to his friends f a follower sometimes 
of one party and sometimes of another, and faithful to none; an un- 
stable senator, a mercenary patron; a person whose every member is 
polluted with turpitude, whose tongue is false, whose hands are 
rapacious, whose feet are fugitive, and what cannot decently be named, 
the most dishonoured of all. Yet he, a person of this description, 
dares to exclaim, 

Ofortunatam 2 natam, me consule, Romam I 

Rome fortunate under your consulship, Cicero? Nay, indeed, most 
unfortunate and wretched, suffering a most cruel proscription of her 
citizens, when you, in the disturbed condition of the state, compelled 
all the respectable classes to shrink before your severity ; when all 
causes, and all laws, were under your control, and when, having set 
aside the Porcian law, and despoiled us of our liberty, you took the 
power of life and death, over every one of us, into your own hands. Nor 
are you content to have done this with impunity ; you who reproach 
us by reminding us of it ; nor are we allowed to forget our slavish 
submission. But let it suffice, I intreat you, Cicero, that you have 
effected and accomplished what you pleased ; it is sufficient that we 
have endured it ; would you, in addition, burden our ears with the 
odious repetition of your deeds, and harass them with those most 
offensive words, 

Cedant arma togce, concedat laurea lingua 3 ? 
As if you had perpetrated the deeds of which you boast with the aid 
of the toga, and not with arms, or as if there were any difference 
between you and Sylla the dictator, except in your title of authority. 

But why should I expose your presumption, when you yourself pre- 
tend that Minerva has taught you all arts, and when the good and 
great Jupiter has admitted you to the council of the gods, and Italy 
brought you back from exile on her shoulders ? Let me ask you, O 
Romulus 4 of Arpinum, who, in your extraordinary, merit, have sur- 

1 Such his love — virtuous magnanimity] Illud vero amicitiai tantum ac virtutis 
est animi. These words are evidently corrupt, as Glareanus and Cortius observe. 
I have given them such a sense as the passage seems to require. 

2 Ofortunatam, $c] See Juv., x., 122; Quintil., xi., 1. 

3 Laurea linguae] " In Cic. Off., i., 22, the verse is read laurea laudl, which 
the critics prefer, though some contend for linguce. See the Commentators on 
that passage, and Burman on Quintil., xi., 1." Cortius. 

4 Romulus] " He calls him a Romulus, as if he were the author of a new 
state of things." Cortius. 



A DECLAMATION AGAINST CICERO. 279 

passed all the Paulli, Fabii, and Scipios, what place you hold in the 
state, what party in the republic suits you ? Whom do you choose as 
a friend, whom as an enemy ? Him, for whom you laid a plot in the 
state, you now serve; (with what justice 1 , when you returned from your 
exile at Dyrrachium, did you follow him ?) of those whom you called 
tyrants, you now support the power ; those whom you thought men of 
honour, you now call fools and madmen. You plead the cause of 
Vatinius ; you have a bad opinion of Sextius ; you assail Bibulus 
with the most insolent language ; you extol Caesar ; whomsoever you 
hated most, to him you are the most submissive ; you have one opinion, 
on political affairs, when you are standing, and another when you are 
sitting ; some you slander, and others you hate ; and, O most fickle 
of renegades, you are trusted neither by one party nor by the other. 

1 With what justice, $c.~] " I have included these words in a parenthesis, to 
give a little help to the sentence, the meaning of which, in the common editions, 
it is difficult to unravel. * * * Cicero, in his exile, resided at Dyrrachium, both 
for the sake of safety, and of easily hearing news from Eome. SeeEp. xiv., 1, 
iii., 8. Before he went into exile, he was offered a legation by Caesar, which he 
declined ; but after his return, he was among Caesar's followers." Corti'us. 






A DECLAMATION AGAINST SALLUST. 

FALSELY ATTRIBUTED TO CICERO 1 . 



I. It is your great pleasure, Sallust, to lead a life suitable and cor- 
respondent to your words, and to utter nothing, of however foul a 
character, to which your conduct, even from your earliest boyhood, 
has not been answerable ; so that your language is uniformly con- 
sistent with your morals. For neither can any one, who lives like you, 
speak otherwise than you speak ; nor can the life of any one, whose 
conversation is so impure, be more honourable than your own. 

In what direction shall I turn my thoughts, Conscript Fathers ; and 
with what shall I commence ? The better each of us is known, the 
heavier is the task which I undertake in addressing you. Should I 
answer this calumniator wdth regard to my own life and actions, envy 
will still follow my glory ; and, if I expose his actions, habits, and 
whole course of conduct, I shall fall into the same fault of shameless- 
ness which I object to him. If, therefore, you are at all offended, you 
ought to express displeasure at him, who commenced the subject, 
rather than at myself. It shall be my care to defend myself with the 
least possible offensiveness of language, and to make it appear that I 
advance nothing false against my opponent. 

I am aware that, in replying, I have no great expectation of securing 
your attention, for you are certain that you will hear no new charges 
against Sallust, but will merely recognise old accusations, with which 
your ears and mine, as well as his own, have long tingled. But you 
have, on this account, the greater reason to detest the man ; a man 
who, not even at his entrance on vice, contented himself with essays 
in small matters, but commenced his course in such a way that he 
could neither be surpassed by any one, or surpass himself during the 
rest of his life. He indeed aims at nothing else, but, like a filthy 
swine, to wallow with any one whatsoever. But he is greatly deceived 
if he thinks that he shall palliate his conduct by his charges against 
myself; for infamy of life is not to be effaced by impudence of tongue ; 
and there is a certain feeling of abhorrence, of which every one is sen- 
sible from the prompting of his own mind, against him who throws out 
false aspersions on respectable characters. If, therefore, the acts of his 
life defy recollection, you must form your estimate of it, Conscript 
Fathers, not from his speeches, but from his habits. I will endeavour, 
as far as I can, to despatch my account of him with brevity. Nor 

1 Cicero] Glareanus observes that there is an imitation of Cicero's copiousness 
of style in this Declamation; as there is of Sallust's brevity in the preceding. 



A DECLAMATION AGAINST SALLUST. 281 

will this dispute of ours, Conscript Fathers, be without advantage to 
yourselves ; for the authority of a government is often increased by 
the enmities of individuals, whose influence allows no man to conceal 
his real character. 

II. In the first place, then, since Sallust judges of the ancestors of 
all men by one precedent and rule 1 , I would wish him to tell me of 
what estimation 2 or fame were the Scipios, Metelli, and Fabii, whose 
names he has mentioned, before their exploits, and a life of honour, 
recommended them to notice. But if such was the commencement of 
their reputation and celebrity, why may not the case be similar with 
myself, whose actions are honourable, and whose life has been passed 
without blame? You speak as if you yourself, Sallust, were sprung 
from such men ! But if you were, there would be some to be ashamed 
of your infamy. I have outshone my ancestors in merit, so that if 
they were previously unnoticed, they may date the origin of their 
notice from me ; you, by the disgraceful life which you have led, have 
thrown a great cloud over yours, so that, though they may have 
been excellent citizens, they may well sink into oblivion. Forbear, 
therefore, to taunt me with the want of distinguished forefathers ; for 
it is better that I should attain eminence by my own actions, than be de- 
pendent on the fame of my ancestors, and that I should live a life which 
may be the commencement of nobility, as well as an example of virtue, 
to my descendants. Nor is it just, Conscript Fathers, that I should 
be compared with those who are dead, and who are free from the 
influence of hatred or envy, but with those who are engaged with me in 
the service of my country. But if I have been too ambitious of 
honour, (I do not allude to the ambition to serve the state, in which I 
confess that I would stand foremost, but to that pernicious ambition in 
defiance of the laws, in which Sallust has ever been a leader,) or if I 
have been as severe as you state that I have been, in the exercise of 
office or the punishment of crimes ; or if I have been as vigilant as 
you represent in defence of the state, (a vigilance which you call a 
proscription, I suppose because all like yourself did not live unmolested 
in the city, though how much better would be the present condition of 
the country, if you, who resembled those infamous traitors, had been 
numbered with them in death!) did I, who, clad in the toga, cut off 
armed incendiaries, and suppressed a war without disturbing peace, 
unjustly say Cedant arma toga; or, when I extinguished such desperate 
hostility, such formidable treason within the city, did I unreasonably 
exclaim Fortunatam natam, me consule, Romam ? 

III. Do you feel no concern, most fickle-minded of men, when you 
blame, on the present occasion, those parts of my conduct which in 
your History you describe as honourable to me ? Which is more dis- 

1 One precedent and rule] "As the pseudo-Sallust mentions the Scipios and Fabii, 
who were truly noble men, the pseudo-Cicero accuses him of requiring all truly 
noble men to have had ancestors such as those of the Scipios and Fabii." Cortius. 

2 Of what estimation] Qualis opinionis. This usage of opinio, which occurs 
in the same sense a few lines below, is sufficient to show that this composition is 
of the later Latinity. 



282 A DECLAMATION AGAINST SALLTJST. 

graceful to him, Conscript Fathers, to record falsehoods in writing, 
or to state them to this assembly ? In reply to the aspersions which 
you have thrown upon my life, I may say that I am as far from im- 
purity as you are from purity. But why should I make further com- 
plaint of your calumnies ? For what falsehood can you think dis- 
honourable, when you dare to represent my eloquence as a vice, 
eloquence of which your guilt has constantly needed the protection ? 
Do you imagine that any man can become a distinguished member of 
the state, who is not instructed in such arts and studies as I have 
pursued ? Do you suppose that any better basis and cradle of virtue 
can be found, or any more effectual method of exciting the mind to 
the pursuit of glory? But it is not at all surprising, Conscript 
Fathers, that a man who is sunk in sloth and luxury should express 
wonder at such studies, as if they were new and unusual. 

As to your attacks, so extraordinary in their virulence, upon my 
wife and daughter, who have more easily refrained from the opposite 
sex than you from your own, you have shown great skill and judgment 
in making them ; for you naturally expected that I should not re- 
taliate, or make any similar attack on your family, since you have 
matter enough for obloquy in your own person, and since there is 
nothing in your house more infamous than yourself. But you are 
greatly deceived if you hope to raise odium against me on account of 
my property, which is indeed much less than I deserve to have ; but 
I could wish, on one account, that it were less than it is, and that 
all my friends who have left me legacies were alive, rather than that I 
were enriched by their favours. 

Am I a fugitive, Sallust, because I retreated before the madness of 
a tribune of the people ? I thought it better that I, as an individual, 
should incur any fate whatever, than be the cause of discord among 
the whole Roman people. But as soon as that incendiary had com- 
pleted his year of disorder, and all that he had disturbed had subsided 
into peace and quiet, I returned at the call of this house, the whole 
state, as it were, leading me back by the hand. And the day of my 
return, if it be compared with the rest of my life, has, in my estima- 
tion, a superiority over the whole of it, as, on that day, the whole of 
your assembly, Conscript Fathers, and a vast concourse of the Roman 
people, welcomed me on my reappearance. 

IV. Such was the value which they set upon me, whom you call 
a fugitive and a mercenary patron. Nor, indeed, is it wonderful that 
I should have always thought the friendship of all men justly due to 
me ; for to no man have I played the servitor, to no man have I 
attached myself with a view to private interest, but have regarded 
every one as my friend or my enemy according to his feelings for the 
republic. I wished for the establishment of nothing so much as of 
public peace ; many encouraged the audacious attempts of individuals 
for their own advantage. I feared nothing but the laws ; many de- 
sired that their own arms should be dreaded. I never longed to exert 
power but for your good ; many even of yourselves, relying on their 
own influence, abused their authoritv to your injury. It is not sur- 
prising, therefore, if I have found friendship from none but such as 






A DECLAMATION AGAINST SALLTJST. 283 

were friends to the state ; nor do I repent either of having afforded 
my protection to Vatinius, when he solicited it under accusation, or 
of having repressed the insolence of Sextius, or of having condemned 
the unconcern of Bibulus, or of having been favourable to the merits 
of Caesar; for such conduct should be regarded as the great and dis- 
tinguished praise of a high-minded citizen, and if you impute it to me 
as a fault, it will be audacity on your part, and not unreasonableness 
on mine, that will be the proper object of censure. I would say more 
to the same purpose, Conscript Fathers, if I had to address myself to 
any other assembly than yours, for you yourselves prompted me to all 
that I did ; and, where the proofs of actions are known, what need is 
there to multiply words respecting them? 

V. I now return to yourself, Sallust. Of your father, I shall say 
nothing, who, however, if he never committed a fault in his life, could 
not have done a greater mischief to his country than by sending into 
it such a son as yourself. Nor shall I inquire of what irregularities 
you were guilty in your boyhood, lest I should seem to reflect on the 
parent who then had charge of you ; but I shall notice only the sort 
of youth that you passed ; for, if this is shown, it will easily be under- 
stood how forward you must have been in childhood, and how impu- 
dently and audacious you grew up. After the gains of your shame- 
lessness became inadequate to support the extravagance of your 
luxury, and you had grown too old to submit yourself to the pleasure 
of others, you were incited, by indomitable passions, to try on others 
what you had not thought disgraceful to yourself. It is not easy to 
decide, therefore, Conscript Fathers, whether the mode in which he 
acquired his gains, or that in which he squandered them, was the more 
dishonourable. He offered for sale, and actually sold, to his perpetual 
infamy, his father's house in his father's lifetime ; and who can doubt 
that he shortened the life of the parent, to whose whole property he 
made himself heir before his death? Nor am I at all ashamed that he 
should ask me who lives in the house of Crassus, when he cannot in- 
form me who lives in that of his own father. But, perhaps, his faults 
were only those of youth, and he corrected them as he grew older. Far 
from it ; he united himself to the society of the abandoned Nigidianus 1 ; 
he was twice brought before the magistrate, and reduced to the utmost 
peril ; and, though he escaped condemnation, it was not because he 
himself appeared innocent, but because his judges were thought guilty 
of perjury. Having obtained the qusestorship as his first office, he 
looked down with contempt on this place and this assembly, to which 
an entrance had been opened for one so mean as himself. Fearing, 
accordingly, that the turpitude of his life, though he had been an ob- 
ject of detestation to every husband in the city, might not be suffi- 
ciently known to you, he confessed in your own hearing, and without 
blushing before your gaze, that he was an adulterer. 

VI. But let it be enough for you to have lived as you pleased, and 
to have done what you wished ; let it also be enough for you to be 
conscious to yourself of your own crimes, and do not reproach us with 
unreasonable heedlessness and indifference. We are careful in pro- 

1 Nigidianus] Who he was, is unknown. 



284 A DECLAMATION AGAINST SALLUST. 

tecting the chastity of our wives, though we are not sufficiently vigi- 
lant to guard against you; for your audacity goes beyond our imagina- 
tions. Can any deed or word, Conscript Fathers, however dishonour- 
able, deter him who was not ashamed, in the hearing of you all, to 
acknowledge his adultery? Were I to make no reply on my own 
behalf, but merely to recite, before this whole assembly, the censorial 
judgment 1 of those irreproachable men, Appius Claudius and Lucius 
Piso 2 , a judgment in which each of them concurred 3 , should I not be 
thought to inflict such a lasting stain on your character as the efforts 
of your whole life could not efface? Nor, after that sentence of the 
senate, did we ever see you in public, except, perhaps, when you 
threw yourself into that camp 4 into which all the refuse of the state 
had collected itself. But this Sallust, who, in time of peace, had not 
even remained a senator, was brought back into the senate, after the 
expiration of his quaestorship, at a time when the government was 
overwhelmed with a military force, and when the same personage, 
who then gained the ascendancy 5 , restored the exiles. But he exer- 
cised his office 6 in such a manner as to set everything to sale for 
which a purchaser could be found. He acted as if he thought all was 
right and just that he chose to do, and abused his authority as if it 
had been given him only to obtain spoil from it. 

Having concluded his quaestorship, and having given large pledges 
to those, to whom, from similarity of pursuits, he had united himself, 
he seemed to have become one of themselves. Sallust, indeed, was an 
excellent specimen of that assemblage into which masses of all kinds 
of filth had collected as into a gulf; whatever licentious and debauched 
characters, traitors, despisers of religion, and debtors, were to be found 
in the city, in the municipal towns, the colonies, and throughout Italy, 
had sunk there as into the waters of an ocean ; persons the most aban- 
doned and infamous, fitted for a camp only by the extravagance of 
their vices, and their eagerness to disturb the state. 

1 Judgment") Elogium. " The word signifies the sentence and the reasons for 
it." Cortius. 

2 Appius Claudius and Lucius Piso] "They were censors A.u.c. 704, and ex- 
pelled from the senate many of the nobility, among whom was Sallust, if Dion 
Cassius, lib. xl., is to be believed." Cortius. 

3 In which each of them concurred] Quo usus est quisqae eorum. This pas- 
sage is very obscure. The eorum must refer to the censors, as Cortius observes ; 
but uterque should have been used instead of quisque. The words pro lege, which 
follow eorum, I have omitted, for all the commentators suspect them, and none 
attempt to explain them. 

4 Camp] " That of Caasar. Many knights and senators, after the sentences of 
Appius and Piso, joined the party of Caesar, according to Dion Cassius, lib. xl." 
Cortius. 

5 Same personage, who then gained the ascendancy] He means Cassar. The 
text of Cortius is idem victor, qui exules reduxit: with victor he understands 
fuit. Other copies have idem victor es, qui exides reduxit. 

6 His office] Honorem. He seems to have been reinstated in his quaestorship. 
See below, c. 8, bis qucestor em fieri. 



A DECLAMATION AGAINST SALLTJST. 285 

VII. But, perhaps, when he was made praetor, he conducted himself 
with propriety and abstinence. On the contrary, did he not spread 
such devastation through his province that our allies endured or ex- 
pected nothing worse in war than they experienced in peace, under 
his government of interior Africa? He carried off, from that country, 
all that could either be taken away on credit, or crammed into vessels. 
He carried off, I say, Conscript Fathers, whatever he pleased; and bar- 
gained with Caesar, for ten thousand pounds 1 , that he should not be 
brought to trial. If any of these statements are false, Saliust, refute 
them at once, and show by what means you, who, a short time before, 
could not redeem even the house of your father, were able to purchase,, 
as if you had been enriched in a dream, those expensive gardens, with 
the villa of Caius Cassar at Tibur, and the rest of your possessions? 

- Were you not ashamed to ask why I had bought the house of Crassus, 
when you yourself are the proprietor of an ancient country-seat which 
once belonged to Caesar? Having just before, I say, eaten up, or 
rather devoured, your patrimony, by what means did you suddenly 
become so wealthy and affluent? For who would make you his- 
heir? — a person whom no one thinks respectable enough for an 
acquaintance, unless he be of the same description and character as 
yourself ? 

VIII. Or can we suppose that the merits of your ancestors exalt 
you in your own estimation? But, whether we say that you resemble 
them, or that they resemble you, no addition could be made to the 
guilt and impurity of the whole family 2 . Or shall we rather imagine 
that your own honours render you insolent ? But do you, O Crispus 
Saliust, think it as much to be twice a senator 3 and twice a quaestor, 
as to be twice a consul and twice to obtain a triumph? He who is 
eager to speak against another, ought to be free from fault himself - r 
he only can properly reproach his neighbour, who will hear no just 
accusation from him 4 . But you, the parasite of every table, the pathic 
of every couch when your age allowed, and afterwards the adulterer,, 
are a disgrace to every order, and perpetually remind us of the civil 

1 Ten thousand pounds] Sestertio duodecies. The exact sum will be 9686£. 18s. 2<L 

2 Guilt and impurity of the whole family] Nihil ad omnium scelus ac nequitiam 
addi potest. This is scarcely consistent with c. 5, where he abstains from saying 
anything against Sallust's father. 

3 Twice a senator, <$-c] Tantidem putas esse bis senatorem, et bis qu<EStorem 
fieri, quanti bis consularem, et bis triumphalem. " Saliust, to his great disgrace, 
was made a senator twice, through having been expelled from the senate ; but 
Cicero was made bis consularis to his great honour, having been exiled when he 
was a consularis, and afterwards recalled to the enjoyment of all his dignities. 
He may be called bis triumphalis in the same sense, since he had gained a 
triumph, and this honour, though not lost by his banishment, may be considered 
as having been renewed at his return." Cortius. 

4 Who will hear no just accusation from him] Qui non potest verum ab altero 
audire. " This is, cut non ab altero vera crimina objici possunt, is demum male- 
dicere alteri potest But I suspect that the passage is corrupt." Coi'tius. 



286 A DECLAMATION AGAINST SALLITST. 

war 1 . For what worse calamity do we endure from it, than that of 
seeing you reinstated in this assembly? But forbear to attack good 
men with forwardness of speech ; forbear to foster the vice of an in- 
temperate tongue; forbear to form your opinion of every man by 
your own conduct; for, by such conduct, you can never acquire a 
friend, and appear willing to have an enemy 2 . 

I shall say nothing more, Conscript Fathers, for I have observed 
that those who give unveiled narratives of the crimes of others, often 
incur the disgust of their auditors, even more than those who have 
committed them. For my own part, it must be my care to say 3 , not 
what Sallust may deservedly hear, but what I myself may decently 
utter. 

1 Perpetually remind us of the civil war] Es — civilis belli memoria. " Be- 
cause it was the civil war that restored Sallust to the senate." Cortius. 

2 An enemy] Meaning himself, as Cortius thinks. 

3 It must be my care to say, tfv?.] Ratio habenda est — ut ea dicam. These 
words seem more appropriate to the commencement than the conclusion of a 
speech. 



EPITOME OF ROMAN HISTORY. 

BY LUCIUS ANN-EUS FLORUS. 



THE AUTHOR S PBEFACE. 

The Roman people, during seven hundred years, from the 
tune of king Romulus to that of Caesar Augustus, performed 
such mighty acts both in peace and war, that if any one 
compares the greatness of their empire with its years, he 
will think it out of proportion to its age 1 . So far through- 
out the world have they extended their arms, that those who 
read their exploits, learn the fate, not of one people only, 
but of all mankind. So numerous are the toils and dangers 
in which they have been exercised, that ability 3 and fortune 
seem to have concurred in establishing their sway. 

As it is of the highest importance, therefore, to learn this 
history 3 as well as others, but as the vastness of the subject 
is a hindrance to the knowledge of it, and the variety of 
topics distracts the faculty of attention 4 , I shall follow the 
example of those who describe the face of the earth 5 , and 
shall comprise the whole representation of the matter, as it 
were, in a small tablet, adding something, as I hope, to the 
admiration with which this eminent people are regarded, by 
showing their whole grandeur together and at one view. If 

1 Out of proportion to its age] ^Etatem ultra. * : He will think that so much 
could not have been done in so short a space of time." Freinshemius. 

2 Ability] Virtus. In the same sense as in Sallust, Cat., c. 1, and elsewhere: 
see the Notes. So Florus, at the commencement of c. 3, says of Tullus Hosti- 
lius, Cui in honorem virtutis regnum vitro datum. 

3 This history] Hoc. I follow Duker's text, in which the passage stands 
thus : Quare quum prcecipuc hoc quoque, sicut caitera, operai pretium sit cog- 
nosce?^ tamen quia, §c. But it is probably corrupt. In some copies the words 
sicut catera are wanting, and in some the word sigillatim is found after 
cognoscere. Graevius conjectures that Florus wrote Quare cum prcecipua qucequc 
operas pretium sit cognoscere sigillatim, tamen quia, <§c. 

4 Distracts the faculty of attention] Aciem intentionis abrumpit. "So we 
say abrumpere sermojiem" Minellius. 

5 Face of the earth] Terrarum situs. Situations of places on the earth. 



288 florus. [Book -I. 

any one, then, contemplates the Koman people as he would 
contemplate a man, and considers its whole age, how it had 
its origin, how it grew up, how it arrived at a certain vigour 
of manhood, and how it has since, as it were, grown old, he 
will observe four degrees and stages of its existence. Its 
first period was under its kings, lasting nearly two hundred 
and fifty years, during which it struggled round its mother 
against its neighbours ; this was its infancy. Its next 
period extended from the consulship of Brutus and Colla- 
tinus to that of Appius Claudius and Quintus lulvius, a 
space of two hundred and fifty years, during which it sub- 
dued Italy ; this was a time of action for men and arms, and 
we may therefore call it its youth. The next period was one 
of two hundred years, to the time of Caesar Augustus, in 
which it subdued the whole world ; this may accordingly be 
called the manhood, and robust maturity, of the empire. 
From the reign of Caesar Augustus to our own age is a period 
of little less than two hundred years, in which, from the 
inactivity of the Caesars, it has grown old and lost its 
strength, except that it now raises its arms under the em- 
peror Trajan, and, contrary to the expectation of all, the old 
age of the empire, as if youth were restored to it, renews its 



BOOK I. 
CHAP. I. OF ROMULUS, THE FIRST KING OF THE ROMANS. 

The founder of the city and empire was Romulus, the son 
of Mars and Rhea Sylvia. The priestess, w r hen pregnant, 
confessed this fact of herself, nor did report, soon after- 
wards, testify a doubt of it, as, being thrown, with his brother 
Hemus, into the river by order of Amulius, he could not 
be destroyed ; for not only did the Tiber repress its stream, 
but a she-wolf, leaving her young, and following the chil- 
dren's cries, offered her teats to the infants, and acted 
towards them the part of a mother. Being found, in these 
circumstances, under a tree, the king's shepherd carried them 
into a cottage, and brought them up. 

The metropolis of Latium, at that time, was Alba, built by 
lulus ; for he had disdained Lavinium, the city of his father 



Book I.] EPITOME OE EOMAS - HISTORY. 289 

-32neas. Amulius, the fourteenth descendant from them 1 , was 
now reigning there, having dethroned his brother lS"umitor, 
of whose daughter Romulus was the son. Romulus, in the 
first ardour of youth, drove Amulius from the citadel, and 
restored his grandfather. Being fond, however, of the river, 
and of the mountains where he had been brought up, he 
thought of founding among them the walls of a new city. 
But as he and his brother were twins, it was resolved to con- 
sult the gods which of the two should commence the work, 
and enjoy the sovereignty. Romulus, accordingly, took his 
station on Mount Aventine, and Remus on Mount Palatine. 
' Romulus first saw six vultures ; Remus was behind him in 
time, but saw twelve. Being thus superior in point of au- 
gury, Romulus proceeded to build the city, with full expec- 
tation that it would prove a warlike one, for so the birds, 
accustomed to blood and prey, seemed to promise. 

For the defence of the new city a rampart appeared suffi- 
cient. While Remus was deriding its diminutiveness, and 
showing his contempt for it by leaping over it, he was, 
whether by his brother's order is uncertain, put to death. 
He was certainly the first victim, and consecrated the fortifi- 
cation of the new city with his blood. 

But Romulus had formed the idea of a city, rather than a 
real city ; for inhabitants were wanting. In the neighbour- 
hood there was a grove, which he made a place of refuge 2 ; 
and immediately an extraordinary number of men, some 
Latin and Tuscan shepherds, others from beyond the seas, 
Phrygians who had come into the country under iEneas, and 
Arcadians under Evander, took up their residence in it. 
Thus of various elements, as it were, he formed one body, 
and was himself the founder of the Roman people. But a 
people consisting only of men could last but one age ; wives 
were therefore sought from the neighbouring nations, and, as 
they were not obtained, were seized by force. For a pre- 
tence being made of celebrating some equestrian games, the 
young women who came to see them, became a prey ; and 
this immediately gave rise to wars. The Yejentes were 
routed and put to flight. The city of the Caoninenses was 
taken and demolished ; and Romulus also, with his own hands, 

1 Ch. I. From them] Ah Ms. That is, from vEneas and lulus. It should 
properly be ab hoc, from jEneas only. 

2 A place of refuge] Asylum. 



290 TLOE.TJS. [Book I. 

offered the spolia opima, taken from their king, to Jupiter 
Feretrius. To the Sabines, the gates of Rome were given 
up by a young woman, though not treacherously 1 ; she had 
asked, as a reward, what they wore on their left arms, but 
whether she meant their shields or their bracelets, is doubt- 
ful. They, to keep their word, and be revenged on her,' 
buried her under their bucklers. The enemy having thus 
gained admission within the walls, there ensued, in the very 
forum, so desperate an engagement, that Romulus intreated 
Jupiter to stop the shameful flight of his men ; and hence a 
temple was afterwards erected, and Jupiter surnamed Stator. 
At last the women who had been carried off, rushed, with 
their hair dishevelled, between the contending parties, and 
separated them. Thus peace was made, and a league esta- 
blished, with Tatius 2 ; and a wonderful event followed, namely, 
that the enemy, leaving their habitations, removed into 
the new city, and shared their hereditary property with their 
sons-in-law, as a portion for their daughters. 

The strength of the city being soon increased, this most 
wise monarch made the following arrangement in the state ; 
that the young men, divided into tribes, should be ready, 
with horses and arms, for any sudden v demands of war ; and 
that the administration of affairs should be in the hands of 
the older men, who, from their authority, were called 
Fathers, and from their age, the Senate 3 . "When he had 
thus regulated matters, and was holding an assembly of the 
people at the lake of Caprea, near the city, he was suddenly 
snatched out of their sight. Some think that he was cut 
to pieces by the senate, on account of his excessive se- 
verity ; but a tempest which then arose, and an eclipse of 
the sun, were apparent proofs of his deification. This 
opinion Julius Proculus soon after confirmed, asserting that 
he had seen Romulus in a more majestic shape than he had 
had when alive ; that he also commanded them to acknow- 
ledge him as a deity, as it pleased the gods that he should be 
called Quirinus in heaven ; and that thus Rome should have 
the sovereignty of the world. 

1 Not treacherously] Nee dolo. Floras means that she intended no treachery 
to her countrymen, but wished to rob or disarm the enemy by depriving them of 
their bracelets or shields. 

2 Tatius] King of the Sabines. Comp. c. 15. 
2 The Senate] Senatus. From senes, old men. 



Book I.] EPITOME OF BOMAK HISTORY. 291 

CHAP. II. OE NTJMA POMPILIUS. 

The successor of Romulus was Numa Pompilius, whom, 
when he was living at Cures, a town of the Sabines, the 
Romans of their own accord solicited, on account of his cele- 
brated piety, to become their king. It was he who taught 
them sacred rites and ceremonies, and the whole worship of 
the immortal gods, and who instituted the pontiffs, augurs, 
Salii, and other sarcedotal offices among the Roman people. 
He also divided the year into twelve months, and the days into 
those for legal business and for vacation. He appointed the 
' sacred shields and the image of Pallas, as certain secret pledges 
of empire ; and ordered the temple of double-faced Janus to 
be the symbol of peace and war. He assigned the fire of 
Yesta to the care of virgins, that its flame might constantly 
burn, in imitation of the stars of heaven, as a guardian of the 
empire. All these arrangements he pretended to make by 
the advice of the goddess Egeria, that his barbarous subjects 
might more willingly submit to them. In process of time, 
he brought that uncivilised people to such a condition, that 
they managed, with piety and justice, a government which 
they had acquired by violence and oppression. 

CHAP. III. OE TULLUS H0STILIUS. 

To Numa Pompilius succeeded Tullus Hostilius, to whom 
the kingdom was voluntarily given in honour of his ability. 
It was he that established military discipline, and the whole 
art of war. Having, therefore, trained the youth in an ex- 
traordinary manner, he ventured to defy the Albans, a 
powerful, and, for a long time, a leading people. But as 
both sides, being equal in strength, were weakened by fre- 
quent engagements, the fortunes of the two people, to bring 
the war to a speedier decision, were committed to the Horatii 
and Curiatii, three twin-brothers, chosen on each side. It 
was a doubtful and noble conflict, and had a wonderful ter- 
mination. For after three were wounded on one side, and two 
killed on the other, the Horatius who survived, adding subtlety 
to valour, counterfeited flight in order to separate his ene- 
mies, and then, attacking them one by one, as they were able 
to pursue him, overcame them all. Thus (an honour rarely 
attained by any other) a victory was secured by the hand of 

u2 



292 flohus. [Book I. 

one man. But this victory he soon after sullied by a mur- 
der. He had observed his sister in tears at the sight of the 
spoils that he wore, which had belonged to one of the enemy 
betrothed to her, and chastised the love of the maiden, so 
unseasonably manifested, with his sword. The laws called 
for the punishment of the crime ; but esteem for his valour 
saved the murderer, and his guilt was shielded by his 
glory. 

The Alban people did not long keep their faith ; for being 
called out, according to the treaty, to assist the Romans in 
the war against Pidense, they stood neutral betwixt the two 
parties, waiting for a turn of fortune. But the crafty king 
of the Bomans, seeing his allies ready to side with the enemy, 
roused the courage of his army, pretending that he had 
ordered them so to act ; hence hope arose in the breasts of 
our men, and fear in those of the enemy. The deceit of the 
traitors was accordingly without effect ; and, after the enemy 
was conquered, Tulius caused Metius Pufetius, as a breaker 
of the league, to be tied between two chariots, and torn in 
pieces by swift horses. Alba itself, which, though the parent 
of Some, was nevertheless its rival, he demolished, but pre- 
viously removed all the wealth of the place, and the inha- 
bitants themselves, to Koine, that thus a kindred city might 
seem not to have been destroyed, but to have been re-united 
to its own body. 

CHAP. IV. Or ANCUS MAECIUS. 

Next reigned Ancus Marcius, a grandson of Numa Pom- 
pilius, and of a similar disposition. He encompassed the 
city 1 with a wall, made a bridge over the Tiber, that flows 
through the town, and settled the colony of Ostia* at the 
junction of the river with the sea ; even then, apparently, 
feeling a presentiment, that the riches and supplies of the 
whole world would be brought to that maritime store-house 
of the city. 

CHAP. V. OF TARQTJINIUS PEISCUS. 

Afterwards, Tarquinius Priscus, though sprung from a 

1 Ch. IV. The city] Manila micro ampleociis est, '" That mamia is often used 
fcr the buildings in cities, is shown by Salmas. ad Lamprid. ComracJ., c. 17; 
Schulting. ad Senec, Controv., vi. ; and Gronov. Obs., ii., 12." Duker. 









Book I.] EPITOME 01" EOMAK HISTORY. 293 

country beyond the sea, making application for the throne, 
obtained it through his industry and accomplishments ; for, 
having been born at Corinth, he had joined to his Grecian 
wit the arts of Italy. This king increased the authority 
of the senate by adding to its number, and augmented the 
tribes with additional centuries ; for Attius Nsevius, a man 
eminent in augury, forbade their number to be increased. 
The king, for a trial of Naevius's skill, asked him if that 
which he had conceived in his mind could he done ? The other, 
having tried the question by augury, answered that it could. 
I was thinking then, replied the king, whether I could cut this 
whetstone with my razor. You can then, rejoined the augur; 
and the king cut it. Hence augury came to be a sacred 
institution among the Romans. 

Xor was the ability of Tarquinius greater in peace than in 
war ; for he reduced, by frequent attacks, the twelve tribes of 
Etruria, from whom were adopted the fasces, robes of state, 
curule-chairs, rings, horse-trappings, military cloaks, and the 
gown called prcetexta. Hence also came the custom of riding 
in triumph, in a gilded chariot, with fo.ur horses ; as well as 
embroidered togse, and striped tunics ; and, in fine, all orna- 
ments and marks of distinction by which regal dignity is 
rendered imposing. 

CHAP. VI. OF SERYIUS TULLITJS. 

Servius Tullius was the next that assumed the govern- 
ment ; nor was the meanness of his extraction any hindrance 
to his exaltation, though he was the son of a female slave. 
For Tanaquil, the wife of Tarquinius Prisons, had improved 
his talents, which were extraordinary, by a liberal education ; 
and a flame, that had been seen surrounding his head, had 
portended that he would be famous. Being, therefore, on 
the death of Tarquinius, put in the king's place, by the aid 
of the queen, (as if merely for a time,) he exercised the 
government, thus fraudulently obtained, with such effect, 
that he seemed to have obtained it by right. By this king 
the Roman people were submitted to a census, disposed into 
classes, and divided into curice and companies ; and, through 
his eminent ability, the whole commonwealth was so regulated, 
that all distinctions of estate, dignity, age, employments, and 



294 florus. [Book I. 

offices, were committed to registers, and a great city was 
governed with all the exactness of the smallest family. 

CHAP. VII. OF TABQULNTTTS STJPERBTJS. 

The last of all the kings was Tarquinius, to whom the 
name of Superbus, or the Proud, was given, on account of 
his deportment. He chose rather to seize by violence, than 
patiently to wait for, the kingdom of his grandfather, which 
was held from him by Servius, and, having set some assassins 
to murder him, managed the power, obtained by crime, not 
more justly than he gained it. ISTor did his wife Tullia differ 
from him in disposition ; for, to salute her husband king, as 
she was riding in her chariot, she drove her startled horses 
over the blood-stained corpse of her father. He himself 
offended the senate by putting some of them to death, dis- 
gusted the whole nation by his pride, (which, to men of right 
feelings, is more intolerable than cruelty,) and, after glutting 
his inhumanity at home, turned at length against his enemies. 
Thus the strong towns in Latium were taken, Ardea, Ocricu- 
lum, Gabii, Suessa, Pometia. ; 

He was also cruel to his own family ; for he scrupled not 
to scourge his son, in order that he might gain credit with 
the enemy when feigning himself a deserter. This son, being 
received, as he had wished, at Gabii, and consulting his 
father what he desired to have done, the father answered 
(what pride!) by striking off 1 , with his staff, the heads of 
some poppies that chanced to grow higher than the rest, 
wishing it thence to be understood that the chief men at 
Grabii were to be put to death. 

Prom the spoils of the captured cities, however, he built a 
temple, at the consecration of which, though the other gods 
gave up their ground, Juventus and Terminus, strange to 
say, stood firm. Tet the obstinacy of these deities pleased 
the augurs, as it promised that all would be firm and endur- 

1 The father answered (what pride!) by striking off, #e.] Excutiens—^quce 
superbiaj) sic respondit. " Florus, in ascribing this to pride, speaks rather with 
reference to Tarquinius' general character for pride, than according to what was 
really the case on this occasion ; for it was rather to be attributed to prudence, 
in order to prevent his designs from being betrayed." Grcevius. There is a simi- 
lar misrepresentation a little above, where the scourging of Sextus Tarquinius, 
which was merely a stratagem, is attributed to his father's cruelty. 



Book I.] EPITOME OE ROMAN HISTORY. 295 

ing. But what was extremely surprising, was, that at the 
foundation of the edifice a human head was found by the 
builders ; and all were persuaded that this was a most favour- 
able omen, portending that the seat of empire, and supreme 
head of the world, would be in that place. 

The Eoman people tolerated the pride of this king, as 
long as lust was not united with it ; but this additional 
oppression they were not able to endure on the part of his 
sons, one of whom having offered violence to Lucretia, a most 
excellent matron, she put an end to her dishonour by killing 
. herself. All power was then taken out of the hands of 
kings. 

CHAP. VIII. A RECAPITULATION OE THE ACTS OE THE SEVEN 

KINGS. 

This is the first age, and, as it were, infancy, of the 
Eoman people, which it had under seven kings, who, by a 
certain contrivance of the fates, were as various in their dis- 
positions as the nature and advantage of the commonwealth 
required. "Who was more daring than Eomulus ? Such a 
man was necessary to hold the government. Who was more 
religious than JSTuma? Circumstances required that he should 
be so, in order that a barbarous people might be softened by 
fear of the gods. What sort of man was Tullus, that author 
of military discipline ? How necessary to warlike spirits, 
that he might improve their valour by discipline! What 
kind of king was the architect Ancus ? How fitted to extend 
the city by means of a colony, to unite it by a bridge, and 
secure it by a wall ! The decorations and insignia of Tar- 
quinius, too, how much dignity did they add to this great 
people from the very dress ! What did the census instituted 
by Servius effect, but that the state should know its own 
strength? Lastly, the tyrannic government of the proud 
Tarquin produced some good, and indeed a great deal ; for 
it came to pass, by means of it, that the people, exasperated 
by wrongs, were inflamed with a desire of liberty. 

CHAP. IX. OE THE CHANGE OE GOVERNMENT. 

Under the conduct and guidance of Brutus and Colla- 
tinus, therefore, to whom the dying matron had recommended 



296 FLORUS. [Book I. 

the avenging of her cause, the Roman people, incited appa- 
rently by some impulse from the gods, to vindicate the 
honour of insulted liberty and chastity, suddenly deserted 
the king, made spoil of his property, consecrated his land to 
their god Mars, and transferred the government to the hands 
of those asserters of their liberty 1 , with a change only of its 
power and name ; for they resolved that it should be held, 
not for life, but only for a year, and that there should be 
two rulers instead of one, lest the authority, by being vested 
in a single person, or by being retained too long, might be 
abused ; and, instead of kings, they called them consuls, that 
they might remember they were to consult the welfare of 
their citizens. So great exultation, on account of their 
newly-recovered liberty, took possession of them, that they 
scarcely believed they could carry their change of condition 
far enough, and deprived one of the consuls of his office, 
and expelled him from the city, for no other reason than 
that his name and family were the same as those of the 
kings. Valerius Publicoia, accordingly, being elected in his 
place, used his utmost endeavours to advance the dignity of 
the liberated people ; for he lowered the fasces before them 
at a public assembly, and gave them the right of hearing 
appeals against the consuls themselves. He also removed 
his house, which stood upon an eminence, into the level 
parts of the town, that he might not offend the people by 
appearing to occupy a fortress. Brutus, meanwhile, endea- 
voured to gain the favour of the citizens by the destruction 
and slaughter of his own family ; for finding that his sons 
were endeavouring to bring back the royal family into the 
city, he brought them into the forum, and caused them, in 
the midst of an assembly of the people, to be scourged with 
rods, and then beheaded; in order that he might seem, as 
a parent of the public, to have adopted the people in the 
room of his own children. 

The Roman people, being now free, took up arms against 
other nations, first, to secure their liberty, next, for the 
acquisition of territory, afterwards in support of their allies, 
and, finally, for glory . and empire. Their neighbours, on 
every side, were continually harassing them, as they had no 
land .of their own (the very pomcerium belonging to the 
1 Asserters of their liberty] Brutus and Collatinus. 



Book I.] EPITOME OP EOZvTA^ HISTOEY. 297 

enemy 1 ), and as they were situated, as it were, at the junc- 
tion of the roads to Latium and Etruria, and, at whatever 
gate they went out, were sure to meet a foe. At length, as 
if in a certain destined course 2 , they proceeded against their 
opponents one after another, and, subduing always the nearest, 
reduced all Italy under their sway. 



CHAP. X. THE WAR WITH POBSEtfA. 

After the royal family was expelled, the first war that the 
people made was in defence of their liberty ; for Porsena, 
king of Etruria, came against them with a large army, de- 
signing to restore the Tar quins by force. Yet, though he 
pressed them hard both with arms and with famine, and 
seizing the Janiculum, occupied the very entrance to the 
city, they withstood and repelled him, and struck him, at 
last, with such amazement, that, though he had the advan- 
tage 3 , he of his own accord concluded a treaty of friendship 
with those whom he had almost conquered. Then appeared 
those Roman prodigies and wonders, Horatius, Mucius, and 
Cloalia, who, if they were not recorded in our annals, would 
now appear fabulous characters. For Horatius, being unable 
alone to repel the enemies that pressed him on all sides, 
swam across the Tiber after the bridge was broken down, 
without letting go his arms, Mutius Scsevola, by a strata- 
gem, made an attempt on the king in the midst of his camp, 
but having stabbed one of his courtiers by mistake, and 
being seized, he thrust his hand into a fire that was burning 
there, and increased the king's terror by a piece of craft, 
saying, "that you may know what a man you have escaped, 
three hundred of us have sworn to the same undertaking ;" 
while, strange to relate, Mucius himself stood unmoved, 
and the king shuddered, as if his own hand had been burn- 
ing. Thus the men displayed their valour 5 but that the 

1 Ch. IX. The very pomcerium belonging to the enemy] Statim Jwstile ponice- 
rium. Pomcerium here means the ground immediately outside the wall. 

- Certain destined course] Contagione quadam. Thus Cicero uses contagio 
for the natural connexion of causes and effects, nature?, contagio, ipsa rerum con- 
tagio, De Fato, c. 3, 4. 

3 Ch. X. Though he had the advantage] Superior. This does not agree well 
with repulit, " repulsed frm," just above. 



298 floeus. [Book I. 

other sex might not want its praise, there was a like spirit 
among the young women ; for Clcelia, one of the hostages 
given to the king, having escaped from her keepers, crossed 
the river of her country on horseback. The king, in conse- 
quence, being struck with so many and so great prodigies of 
valour, bid them farewell, and left them free. 

The Tarquins continued the war, till Brutus, with his own 
hand, killed Aruns, the king's son, and fell dead upon his 
body of a wound received from his adversary, as if he would 
pursue the adulterer even to Tartarus. 

CHAP. XT. OE THE WAE WITH THE LATINS. 

The Latins also took part with the Tarquins, out of rivalry 
and envy towards the Bomans, desiring that a people, who 
ruled abroad, might at least be slaves at home. All Latium, 
accordingly, under the leadership of Mamilius of Tusculum, 
roused their spirits as if to avenge the king's cause. They 
came to a battle near lake Begillus, where success was for a 
long time doubtful, till Posthumius, the dictator, threw a 
standard among the enemy, (a new and remarkable stratagem,) 
that it might be recovered by rushing into the midst of them. 
Cossus 1 , the master of the horse, too, ordered the cavalry to 
take off their bridles, (this was also a new contrivance,) that 
they might attack with greater force. Such at last was the 
desperateness of the engagement, that fame reported two of 
the gods, on white horses, to have been present to view it, 
and it was universally believed that they were Castor and 
Pollux. The Roman* general accordingly worshipped them, 
and, on condition of gaining the victory, promised them 
temples ; a promise which he afterwards performed, as pay- 
ment to the gods who assisted him. 

Thus far they contended for liberty. Afterwards they 
fought with the same Latins, perseveringly and without in- 
termission, about the boundaries of their territory. Sora 
(who would believe it ?) and Algidum were a terror to them. 
Satricum and Cornieulum were provinces. Of Yerulae and 
Bovillae I am ashamed to speak ; but we triumphed. Tibur, 

1 Ch. XI. Cossus] " Florus has erroneously said Cossus instead of Titus 
iEbutius Elva. Cossus was master of the horse under the Dictator ./Emilius 
Mamercinus, a.u.c. 327." Stadius. " That Florus has made a mistake is admitted 
by all except liobortellus, who would expunge the word * Cossus.' " Freinshemms. 



Book I.] EPITOME OE ROMAN HISTORY. 299 

now a portion of the suburbs, and Praeneste, a pleasant sum- 
mer residence, were not attacked till vows for success had 
been offered in the Capitol. Faesula? was as much to us as 
Carrae 1 was of late ; the grove of Aricia was as considerable 
as the Hercynian forest, Fregellse as Gesoriacum 2 , the Tiber 3 
as the Euphrates. That Corioli was taken, was thought 
(disgraceful to relate) such a cause for triumph, that Caius 
Mareius Coriolanus added a name from the captured town 
to his own, as if he had subdued j^umantia or Africa. There 
are extant also spoils taken from Antium, which Maenius 
put up on the rostra in the forum, after capturing the 
enemy's fleet, if a fleet, indeed, it could be called ; for there 
were only six beaked vessels. But this number, in those 
early times, was sufficient for a naval war. 

The most obstinate of the Latins, however, were the iEqui 
and Volsci, who were, as I may say, daily enemies. But these 
were chiefly subdued by Lucius Quintius, the dictator taken 
from the plough, who, by his eminent bravery, saved the 
camp of the consul, Lucius Minucius, when it was besieged 
and almost taken. It happened to be about the middle ot 
seed-time, when the lictor found the patrician leaning on 
his plough in the midst of his labour. Marching from 
thence into the field, he made the conquered enemies, that 
he might not cease from the imitation of country work, pass 
like cattle under the yoke. His expedition being thus con- 
cluded, the triumphant husbandman returned to his oxen, 
and, O faith of the gods, with what speed ! for the war was 
begun and ended within fifteen days ; so that the dictator 
seemed to have hastened back to resume the work which he 
had quitted. 

CHAP. XII. THE WARS WITH THE ETRURIANS, EALISCI, AND 
EIDENATES. 

The Vejentes, on the side of Etruria, were continual 
enemies of the Eomans, attacking them every year ; so that 

1 Carrae] A city of Osroene in Mesopotamia, where Crassus was killed. 
See iii., 11. 

2 Gesoriacum] A harbour of the Morini in Gaul, afterwards called Bononia. 

3 The Tiber] Tiberis. This can hardly be right, though it has been generally 
adopted for the old reading Tigris. Florus would scarcely have instanced the 
river that actually ran through the city. Davies, in his translation, has Liris. 



300 FLOEUS. [Book I. 

the single family of the Fabii offered extraordinary assist- 
ance, and carried on a private war against them. But the 
slaughter that befel them was sufficiently memorable. Three 
hundred (an army of patricians) were slain at Cremera, and 
the gate that let them pass, when they were proceeding to 
battle, was stigmatised with the name of ivicked. But that 
slaughter was expiated by great victories, the enemies' 
strongest towns being reduced by one general after another, 
though in various methods. The Falisci surrendered of their 
own accord ; the Fidenates were burned with their own fire ; 
the Vejentes were plundered and utterly destroyed. 

During the siege of the Falisei, an instance of honour on 
the part of the Eoman general was regarded as wonderful, 
and not without justice ; for he sent back to them, with hi3 
hands bound behind him, a schoolmaster who intended to 
betray their city, with some boys whom he had brought with 
him. Being an upright and wise man, he knew that that 
only was a true victory which was gained with inviolate 
faith and untainted honour. The people of Fidenae, not 
being a match for the Eomans with the sword, armed them- 
selves with torches and party-coloured fillets resembling 
serpents, in order to excite terror in the enemy, and inarched 
out against them like madmen ; but their dismal dress was 
only an omen of their destruction. How great the strength 
of the Vejentes was, a ten-years' siege proves. It was 
then that the Eoman soldiers first wintered under skins, 
while the extraordinary winter labour was recompensed 
with pay, and the soldiers were voluntarily bound by an 
oath not to return till the city was taken. The spoils of 
Lars Tolumnius, the king of the Vejentes, were offered to 
Jupiter Feretrius. The destruction of the city was at last 
effected, not by scaling-ladders, nor by a breach in the walls, 
but by a mine, and stratagems under ground. The spoil 
was thought so great, that the tenth was sent to the Pythian 
Apollo, and the whole Eoman people were called out to 
share in the pillage. Such was Veii at that time ; who now 
remembers that it existed ? what relic or vestige is left of 
it ? Even the trustworthiness of our annals can hardly make 
us believe that Veii ever had a being. 



Book I.] EPITOME OP EOMAX HISTORY. 301 



CHAP. XIII. OP THE WAR WITH THE GAULS. 

At this point, whether through the envy of the gods, or 
the appointment of fate, the rapid progress of the advanc- 
ing empire was stopped, for a short time, by an invasion of 
the Gralli Senones. Whether this period were more hurtful 
to the [Romans by the disasters which it caused them, or more 
glorious by the proofs which it gave of their valour, I am 
unable to tell. Such, however, was the violence of the cala- 
mity, that I must suppose it inflicted upon them, by divine 
Providence, for a trial of their spirit, the immortal gods de- 
siring to know whether the conduct of the Romans would 
merit the empire of the world. The Gralli Senones were a 
nation naturally fierce, and rude in manners ; and, from the 
vastness of their bodies, and the corresponding weight of 
their arms, so formidable in all respects, that they seemed 
evidently born for the destruction of men and the depopula- 
tion of cities. Coming originally from the remotest parts 
of the earth, and the ocean that surrounds all, and having 
wasted everything in their way, they settled between the 
Alps and the Po ; but not content with this position, they 
wandered up and down Italy, and were now besieging the 
town of Clusium. The Romans interposed on behalf of their 
allies and confederates, by sending, according to their custom, 
ambassadors. But what regard to justice was to be ex- 
pected from barbarians ? They only grew more daring ; and 
hence arose a conflict. After they had broken up from 
Clusium, and were marching towards Rome, Pabius, the 
consul, met them at the river Allia with an army. Scarcely 
ever was there a more disgraceful defeat ; and Rome has 
therefore set a damnatory mark on this day in its calendar. 
The Roman army being routed, the G-auls approached the 
city. Garrison there was none ; but then, or never, true 
Roman courage showed itself. In the first place the elder 
men, who had borne the highest offices, met together in the 
forum, where, the high-priest, performing the ceremony of 
devotion, they consecrated themselves to the infernal gods ; 
and immediately afterwards returning, each to his own house, 
they seated themselves, dressed as they were in their long 
robes and richest ornaments, on their curule chairs, that, 
when the enemy came, they might die with proper dignity. 



302 flortxs. [Book I. 

The high-priests and flamens 1 , taking whatever was most 
sacred in the temples, hid part of it in casks buried in the 
earth, and carried part away with them in waggons. The 
virgins of the priesthood of Yesta, at the same time, followed, 
with their feet bare, their sacred things as they were conveyed 
from the city. But Lucius Albinus, one of the common 
people, is said to have assisted them in their flight ; for, 
setting down his wife and children, he took up the virgins 
into his vehicle ; so much, even in their utmost extremity, did 
regard for the public religion prevail over private affections. 

A band of the youth (which, it is certain, scarcely amounted 
to a thousand) took their position, under the command of 
Manlius, in the citadel on the Capitoline mount, intreating 
Jupiter himself, as if present in the place, that " as they had 
united to defend his temple, he would support their efforts 
with his power." The Gauls, meantime, came up, and find- 
ing the city open, were at first apprehensive that some stra- 
tagem was intended, but soon after, perceiving nobody in it, 
they rushed in with shouting and impetuosity. They entered 
the houses, which in all parts stood open, where they wor- 
shipped the aged senators, sitting in their robes on their 
curule chairs, as if they had been gods and genii ; but after- 
wards, when it appeared that they were men (otherwise 
deigning to answer nothing 2 ), they massacred them with 
cruelty equal to their former veneration. They then threw 
burning brands on the houses, and with fire, sword, and the 
labour of their hands, levelled the city with the ground. But 
round the single Capitoline mount, the barbarians (who 
would believe it ?) were detained six months, though making 
every effort, not only by day but by night, to reduce it. At 
length, as some of them were making an ascent in the night- 
time, Manlius, being awakened by the gabbling of a goose, 
hurled them down from the top of the rock ; and, to deprive 

1 Flamens"] Flamines. A Flamen was a priest appointed to any particular 
deity; as the flamen of Jupiter, the flamen of Mars, cf-c. It is a word of uncer- 
tain derivation, but probably for plamen or pileamen, from the pileus, or cap, 
which they wore. See Dion. Halicarn., ii., 64. 

2 Ch. XIII. Otherwise deigning to answer nothing] Alioqui nihil respondere 
dlgnanies. The exact signification of the word alioqui, is, as Duker observes, 
" sufficiently obscure." N. Heinsius, by a happy conjecture, alters it into alioqui 
which (with the preceding ubi changed into ibi) makes excellent sense. 



Book I.j EPITOME OF SOMAN HISTOET. 303 

the enemy of all hope of success, and make a show of confi- 
dence on his own part, he threw out some loaves of bread, 
though he was in great want, from the citadel. On a certain 
fixed day, too, he sent out Fabius, the high-priest, from the 
citadel, through the midst of the enemy's guards, to perform 
a solemn sacrifice on the Quirinal hill. Fabius, under the 
protection of religion, returned safe through the weapons of 
the enemy, and reported that " the gods were propitious." 
At last, when the length of their siege had tired the barba- 
rians, and when they were offering to depart for a thousand 
pounds of gold, (making that offer, however, in an insolent 
manner, throwing a sword into the scale with unfair weights, 
and proudly crying out, "Woe to the conquered!") Camillus, 
suddenly attacking them in the rear, made such a slaughter 
of them as to wash out all traces of the fire with an inunda- 
tion of Gallic blood. But with pleasure may we give thanks 
to the immortal gods on the very account of this great de- 
struction ; for that fire buried the cottages of the shepherds, 
and that flame hid the poverty of Romulus. What, indeed, 
was the effect of that conflagration, but that a city, destined 
for the seat of men and gods, should not seem to have been 
destroyed or overthrown, but rather cleansed and purified ? 
After being defended, therefore, by Manlius, and restored by 
Camillus, it rose up again, with still more vigour and spirit, 
against the neighbouring people. But first of all, not content 
with having expelled the Gauls from their city, they so closely 
pursued them under the conduct of Camillus, as they were 
dragging their broken remains up and down through Italy, 
that at this day not a trace of the Senones is left in the 
country. On one occasion, there was a slaughter of them at 
the river Anio, when Manlius. in a single combat, took from 
a barbarian, among other spoils, a golden chain ; and hence 
was the name of the Torquati 1 . On another occasion they 
were defeated in the Pomptine territory, when Lucius Vale- 
rius, in a similar combat, being assisted by a sacred bird sit- 
ting upon his helmet, carried off the spoils of his enemy; and 
hence came the name of the Corvini. At last Dolabella, some 
years afterwards, cut off all that remained of them at the lake 

1 Torquati] From torques, a chain or collar for the neck. Corvini from 
corvus, a raven. 



304 floetts. [Book I. 

Vadimo in Etruria, that none of that nation might survive to 
boast that Eome had been burned by them. 



CHAP. XIY. THE LATIN WAE. 

In the consulship of Manlius Torquatus and Deeius Mus, 
the Romans turned from the G-auls upon the Latins, a people 
always ready to attack them from rivalry for empire, and now 
from contempt for the burnt state of the city. They demanded 
that the right of citizenship should be granted them, and 
a participation in the government and public offices ; and pre- 
sumed that they could now do something more than struggle 
for these privileges. But who will wonder that the enemy 
should then have yielded, when one of the consuls put his 
own son to death, for fighting, though successfully, contrary 
to orders, as if there were more merit in observing command 
than in gaining a victory ; and the other, as if by the admo- 
nition of the gods, devoted himself, with his face covered, and 
in front of the army, to the infernal deities, so that, casting 
himself into the thickest of the enemy's weapons, he opened 
a new way to victory by the track of his own blood. 

CHAP. XT. THE SABINE WAE. 

After the Latins, they attacked the nation of the Sabines, 
who, unmindful of the alliance contracted under Titus Tatius, 
had united themselves, by some contagion of war, to the 
Latins. But the Romans, under Curius Dentatus, their 
consul, laid waste, with fire and sword, all that tract which 
the JNTar and the springs of Velinus inclose, as far as the 
Adriatic sea. By which success such a number of people, 
and such an extent of territory, was brought under their 
jurisdiction, that even he who had made the conquest could 
not tell which was of the greater importance. 

CHAP. XTI. THE SAMNITE WAE. 

Being then moved by the intreaties of Campania, they at- 
tacked the Samnites, not on their own account, but, what is 
more honourable, on that of their allies. A league had in- 
deed been made with both those nations, but the Campanians 
had made theirs more binding and worthy of regard, by a sur- 



Book I.] EPITOME OP EOMAX HISTOEr. 305 

render of all that they had. The Romans accordingly took 
up the war against the Samnites as if on their own behalf. 

The region of Campania is the finest of all countries, not 
only in Italy, but in the whole world. Nothing can be softer 
than its air ; indeed it produces flowers twice a year. Nothing 
can be more fertile than its soil ; and it is therefore said to 
haye been an object of contention between Bacchus and 
Geres. Nothing can be more hospitable than its shores ; for 
on them are those noble harbours, Caieta, Misenus, and 
Baiae with its warm springs, as well as the lakes Lucrinus 
and Ayernus, places of retirement as it were for the sea 1 . 
Here, too, are those yine-clad mountains, Graurus, Palernus, 
Massicus, and Vesuvius the finest of all, the imitator of the 
fires of iEtna. On the sea are the cities Formic, Cumae, 
Puteoli, Naples, Herculaneum, Pompeii, and, the chief of all, 
Capua, which was formerly one of the three greatest cities in 
the world, Borne and Carthage being the others. 

In defence of this city, and this country, the Roman 
people attacked the Samnites, a nation, if you would know its 
wealth, equipped with gold and silver armour, and with 
clothes of various colours even to ostentation 2 ; if you would 
understand its subtlety, accustomed to assail its enemies by 
the aid of its forests and concealment among the mountains ; 
if you would learn its rage and fury, exasperated to destroy 
the city of Borne by sacred laws and human sacrifices ; if you 
would look to its obstinacy, rendered desperate by six viola- 
tions of the treaty, and by its very defeats. Yet in fifty 
years, by means of the Babii and Papirii, fathers and sons, 
the Romans so subdued and reduced this people, so demo- 
lished the very ruins of their cities, that Samnium may now 
be sought in Samnium ; nor does it easily appear whence 
there was matter for four-and-twenty triumphs over them* 
But the greatest defeat that the Romans received from this 
nation was at the Caudine Porks, in the consulship of Yetu- 
rius and Posthumius. For the Roman army being inclosed, 

1 Ch. XVI. Places of retirement — for the sea] Qucedam maris otia. " He elegantly 
applies this term to these estuaries, into which the sea pours itself, and there, as 
it were, rests and takes its case." Sahnasius. Lucretius uses the word otia for 
resting-places, v., 3386. 

2 To ostentation] Ad ainbitum. " Ryckius rightly interprets ambitus 'ostenta- 
tion.' " Duker. 

X 



306 elorus. [Book I. 

by means of an ambush, within that defile, whence it was 
unable to extricate itself, Pontius, the general of the enemy, 
struck with such extraordinary good fortune, consulted bis 
father Herennius how he should act, who, as a man of greater 
age and experience, judiciously advised him " either to release 
them all, or to put them all to the sword." But Pontius pre- 
ferred making them pass, despoiled of their arms, beneatb the 
yoke ; so that they were not made friends by bis mercy, but 
rendered greater enemies after sucli dishonour. The consuls, 
therefore, without delay, and in a noble spirit, removed, by a 
voluntary surrender of themselves, the disgrace of the treaty ; 
and the soldiers, clamorous for revenge, and led on by Papirius, 
rushed furiously along the line of march, witb their swords 
drawn (fearful to relate !) before they came to battle ; and the 
enemy affirm that in the encounter the eyes of the Romans 
were like burning fire. Nor was there an end put to the 
slaughter, until they retaliated witb tbe yoke upon their 
enemies and their general who was taken prisoner. 



CHAP. XYII. THE WAR WITH THE ETRURIANS AND SAMNITES 
COMBINED. 

As yet the Roman people had warred only with single 
nations, but soon after it had to struggle with a combination 
of them ; yet in such circumstances it was a match for them 
all. The twelve tribes of the Etrurians, the TJmbri, the most 
ancient people of Italy, hitherto unassailed in war, and those 
that remained of the Samnites, suddenly conspired for the 
utter destruction of the Roman name. The terror excited 
by nations so numerous and so powerful was very great. The 
standards of four armies, ready for engagement, flew far and 
wide throughout Etruria. The Ciminian forest, too, which lay 
between Rome and Etruria, and which had hitherto been 
as little explored as the Caledonian or Hercynian forests, 
was so great an object of dread, that the senate charged 
the consul not to venture on sucli a peril. But no danger 
deterred the general from sending his brother before to 
learn tbe possibilities of forcing a passage. He, putting on 
a shepherd's dress, and examining all around in the night, 
reported that the way was safe. Eabius Maximus, in conse- 
quence, terminated a most hazardous war without hazard ; 



Book I.] EPITOME OE EOMAK HISTORY. 307 

for lie suddenly assailed the enemy as they were in disorder 
and straggling about, and, possessing himself of the higher 
grounds, thundered down on those below at his pleasure, the 
aspect of the war being as if weapons were hurled on the 
children of earth from the sky and the clouds. Yet final suc- 
cess was not secured without bloodshed ; for one of the 
consuls, being surprised in the hollow of a valley, sacrificed 
his life, devoted, after the example of his father, to the in- 
fernal gods ; and made this act of devotion, natural to his 
family, the price of victory. 



CHAP. XVIII. THE WAB WITH THE TAEEKTI2TES AtfD 
PYKRHTJS. 

Next follows the Tarentine War, one, indeed, in title and 
name, but manifold in victories ; for it involved in one ruin, 
as it were, the Campanians, Apulians, and Lucanians, as well 
as the Tarentines, who were the authors of it, that is to say, 
the whole of Italy, and, together with all these, Pyrrhus, the 
most famous king of Greece ; so that the Roman people, at 
one and the same time, completed the reduction of Italy and 
commenced their transmarine triumphs. 

Tarentum was built by the Lacedaemonians, and was for- 
merly the metropolis of Calabria, Apulia, and all Lucania ; 
it was famous for its size, and walls, and harbour, and admired 
for its situation ; for, being placed at the very entrance to 
the Adriatic, it sends its vessels to all the adjacent countries, 
as Istria, Illyricum, Epirus, Greece, Africa, and Sicily. A 
large theatre 1 lies close upon the harbour, built so as to over- 
look the sea ; which theatre was the cause of all the calamities 
that befel the unhappy city. They happened to be celebrating 
games, when they saw from thence the Roman fleet rowing 
up to the shore, and, supposing that they were enemies ap- 
proaching, ran out and attacked them without further con- 
sideration 3 ; for " who or whence were the Romans ?" Nor 

1 Ch. XVIII. A large theatre] Majus theatrum. The word majus puzzles the 
commentators, Salmasius conjectures that there may have been two theatres, a 
greater and a less. Some copies have uvbis theatrum, and Freinshemius con- 
jectures amphitheatrum. 

2 Without further consideration] Sine dismnmine. Without waiting to discri- 
minate whether they were enemies or not. 

x2 



308 floetts. [Book I. 

was this enough; an embassy came from Borne without 
delay, to make a complaint; and this embassy they vilely 
insulted, with an affront that was gross 1 and disgraceful to 
be mentioned. Hence arose the war. The preparations for 
it were formidable, so many nations, at the same time, rising 
up in behalf of the Tarentines, and Pyrrhus more formidable 
than them all, who, to defend a city, which, from its founders 
being Lacedaemonians, was half Greek, came with all the 
strength of Epirus, Thessalia, and Macedonia, and with 
elephants, till then unknown in Italy ; menacing the country 
by sea and land, with men, horses, and arms, and the addi- 
tional terror of wild beasts. 

The first battle was fought by the consul Levinus, at 
Heraclea, on the Liris, a river of Campania; a battle so 
desperate, that Obsidius, commander of a Frentane troop of 
horse, riding at the king, put him into disorder, and obliged 
him to throw away his royal insignia and quit the field. He 
would doubtless have been defeated, had not the elephants, 
turning round, rushed forward to attract the attention of the 
combatants 2 ; when the horses, startled at their bulk and 
ugliness, as well as at their strange smell and noise, and 
imagining the beasts, which they had never seen before, to be 
something more terrible than they were, spread consternation 
and havoc far and wide. 

A second engagement took place at Asculum in Apulia, 
under the consuls Curius and Fabricius, with somewhat 
better success ; for the terror of the beasts had in some de- 
gree passed off, and Caius Minucius, a spearman of the fourth 
legion, having cut off the trunk of one of them, showed that 
the monsters were mortal. Lances were accordingly heaped 
upon them, and firebrands, hurled against their towers, 
covered the troops of the enemy with flaming ruins. Nor 
was there any stop to the slaughter till night separated the 
combatants ; and the king himself, the last of those that 
retreated, was carried off by his guards, with a wound in the 
shoulder, on his own shield. 

1 An affront that was gross, <J*c] Valerius Maximus, ii., 2, says that Posthu- 
mius, one of the ambassadors, urina respersum fuisse ; Dion. Halicarn. Excerpt. 
Legat., c. 4, intimates something worse. 

2 To attract, cj-c] In spectuculum belli. A phrase of doubtful meaning. See 
Duker, who refers to Sallust, Jug., c 101, Turn spectaculum horribile campispa- 
lentibus, and to Floras above, c. 11, interfulsse spectacuh (sc. prrelii) deos. 



Book I.] EPITOME OF EOMA^ HISTOET. 309 

The last battle was fought by the same leaders, near what 
are called the Arusine plains in Lucania ; but success was 
then wholly on the side of the Romans. Chance brought 
that termination to the struggle which valour would have 
given ; for the elephants being again brought into the front 
line, the heavy stroke of a weapon descending on the head 
of a young one, made it turn about ; and then, as it was 
trampling down numbers of its own party, and whining with 
a loud noise, its dam recognised it, and broke out of her place 
as though to revenge the injury done to it, disordering all 
around her, as if they had been troops of the enemy, with her 
unwieldly bulk. Thus the same beasts, which had gained 
the first victory, and balanced the second, gave the third to 
the Eomans without dispute. 

Nov did they engage with Pyrrhus only with arms and in 
the field, but contended with him also in counsel, and at 
home within the city. For the subtle king, after his first 
victory, being convinced of the valour of the Eomans, 
despaired of gaining success by arms, and had recourse to 
stratagem. He burnt the bodies of the Eomans that were 
slain, treated the prisoners kindly, and restored them with- 
out ransom ; and having afterwards sent ambassadors to the 
city, he sought, by every means in his power, to be received 
into friendship and to make a league with them. But at 
that period the conduct of the Eomans approved itself in 
every way, in war and in peace, abroad and at home ; nor did 
any other conquest, more than that over the Tarentines, 
show the fortitude of the Eoman people, the wisdom of their 
senate, and the gallantry of their generals. "What sort of 
men were those whom we find trampled down by the 
elephants in the first battle ? The wounds of all were in 
their breasts ; some had fallen dead upon their enemies ; all 
had swords in their hands, and threatening left in their 
looks ; and their anger lived even in death itself. Pyrrhus 
was so struck with admiration at the sight, that he exclaimed, 
" Oh, how easy were it for me to gain the empire of the world, 
if I had Eomans for my soldiers ; or for the Eomans, if they 
had me for their king!" And what must have been the ex- 
pedition of those who survived, in recruiting the army ? For 
Pyrrhus said, " I see plainly that I was born under the con- 
stellation of Hercules, since so many heads of enemies, that 
were cut off, arise again upon me out of their own blood, as if 



310 flortts. [Book I. 

they sprung from the Lernsean serpent." And what kind of 
senate was there ? when, on the address of Appius Caecus, 
the ambassadors were sent away from the city with their 
presents, and assured their king, who asked them what they 
thought of the enemy's abode, that " the city appeared to 
them a temple, and the senate an assembly of kings." And 
what sort of generals were there ? either in the camp, when 
Curius sent back the physician that offered the head of king 
Pyrrhus for sale, and Pabricius refused a share of the kingdom 
offered him by Pyrrhus ; or in peace, when Curius preferred 
his earthen vessels to the gold of the Samnites, and Pabricius, 
with the gravity becoming a censor, condemned ten pounds 
of silver, in the possession of Rufinus, though a man of con- 
sular dignity, as a luxury. 

Who then can wonder that the Romans, with such manners, 
and with a brave soldiery, were victorious ? And that in this 
one war with the Tarentines, they brought under their power, 
within the space of four years, the greatest part of Italy, the 
stoutest nations, the most wealthy cities, and the most fruit* 
ful regions ? Or what can more exceed credibility than a 
comparison of the beginning of the war with the end of it ? 
Pyrrhus, victorious in the first battle, laid waste Campania, 
Liris 1 , and Pregellse, whilst all Italy was in alarm, and took 
a view of Rome, which was well-nigh captured, from the 
heights of Praeneste, filling the eyes of the trembling city, at 
the distance of twenty miles, with smoke and dust. The 
same prince being afterwards twice forced from his camp, 
twice wounded, and driven over sea and land into Greece, 
his own country, peace and quiet ensued ; and so vast was 
the spoil from so many wealthy nations, that Eome could not 
contain her own victory. Hardly ever did a finer or more 
glorious triumph enter the city ; when before this time you 
could have seen nothing but the cattle of the Volscians, the 
flocks of the Sabines, the chariots of the Gauls, or the broken 
arms of the Samnites; but now, if you looked on the cap- 
tives, they were Molossians, Thessalians, Macedonians, Brut- 
tians, Apulians, and Lucanians ; if upon the pomp of the pro- 
cession, there was gold, purple, statues, pictures, and all the 
ornaments of Tarentum. The people of Rome, however, be- 

1 Liris] This word is elsewhere found only as the name of a river, Freinshe- 
mius takes it here for that of a town. Minellius suggests that Florus may mean 
the banks of the Liris. 



Book I.] EPITOME OE EOMAN HISTOEY. 311 

held nothing with greater pleasure than those beasts which 
they had dreaded, with their towers on their backs ; which, 
not without a sense of their captivity, followed the victorious 
horses with their heads bowed to the earth. 

CHAP. XIX. THE PICENIAtf WAE. 

Soon after all Italy enjoyed peace, (for who would venture 
on war after the subjugation of Tarentum ?) except that the 
Romans thought proper, of their own accord, to pursue those 
who had joined the enemy. The people of Picenum were in 
■ consequence subdued, with Asculum, their metropolis, under 
the conduct of Sempronius ; who, as there was a tremor of 
the earth during the battle, appeased the goddess Earth by 
vowing a temple to her. 

CHAP. XX. THE SALLENTIKE WAE. 

The Sallentines shared the fate of the people of Picenum ; 
and Brundusium, the chief city of the country, with its 
famous harbour, was taken by Marcus Atilius. In this con- 
test Pales, the goddess of shepherds, demanded, of her own 
accord, a temple as the price of the victory. 

CHAP. XXI. THE WAE WITH THE YOLSINI. 

The last of the Italians that fell under the government of 
the Bomans were the Volsini, the richest of all the Etrurians, 
who sought aid against rebels that had formerly been their 
slaves, and that had turned their liberty, granted them by 
their masters, against their masters themselves, taking the 
government into their own hands, and making themselves 
tyrants. But these were chastised for their presumption 
under the leadership of Eabius Gorges. 

CHAP. XXII. OE SEDITIONS. 

This is the second age of the Boman people, and, as it 
were, its youth ; in which it was extremely vigorous, and 
grew warm and fervid in the flower of its strength. Thus a 
certain rudeness, derived from the shepherds, their ancestors, 
which still remained in them, betrayed something of an un- 
tamed spirit. Hence it happened that the army, having 
mutinied in the camp, stoned their general, Posthumius, for 
withholding the spoil which he had promised them; that 



812 ixoeus. [Book I. 

under Appius Claudius they refused to conquer the enemy 
when they had the power ; that on occasion of the sol- 
diers, with Volero at their head, declining to serve, the 
fasces of the consul were broken ; and that the people 
punished their most eminent leaders with exile, when they 
opposed their will : as Coriolanus, for desiring them to tiil 
their grounds, (nor would he have less severely revenged 
his wrongs in war, had not his mother Veturia, when he was 
leading on his forces, disarmed him with her tears,) and 
Camillus, because he seemed to have divided the plunder of 
Yeii unfairly between the common people and the army. But 
the latter, with better fortune 1 than Coriolanus, grew old in 
the city which he had taken, and afterwards avenged his 
countrymen, at their entreaty, on their enemies the Gauls. 

Disputes were also carried on, more violently than was just 
and reasonable, with the senate ; insomuch that the people, 
leaving their dwellings, threatened devastation and ruin to 
their country. 

CHAP. XXIII. THE SUBJECT CONTINUED. 

The first disagreement was occasioned by the tyranny of 
the money-lenders, who vented their resentment even on the 
backs of their debtors, scourging them as if they were slaves ; 
and the commons, in consequence, Avithdrew under arms to 
Ihe Sacred Mount, from which they were with difficulty 
recalled by the authority of Menenius Agrippa, an eloquent 
and wise man ; nor would they have returned at all if they 
had not obtained tribunes for themselves. The fable of his, 
in the old style, so powerfully persuasive to concord, is still 
extant, in which he said that "the members of the human 
body were once at variance among themselves, alleging, that 
while all the rest discharged their duties, the stomach alone 
continued without occupation; but that at length, when 
ready to die, they returned from their disagreement to a 
right understanding, as they found that they were nourished 
with the food that was by the stomach reduced to blood." 

1 Ch. XXII. But the latter, with better fortune, c?*c] Sedlric melior [obsessis], 
in capta urbe cons&nuit. Obsessis occurs in some copies, but Duker and Grawius 
omit it. The city which lie had taken was Veii. But it is not said in any other 
author that Camillus spent his old age at Veii. Salmasius understands consenait 
of pining at the misfortunes of his country; but this interpretation is so forced 
that it seems less reasonable to accept it than to suppose Florus to have been 
mistaken. 



Book I.] EPITOME OP EOMAX HISTORY. 313 

CHAP. XXIV. THE SUBJECT CONTINUED. 

The licentiousness of the Decemvirate gave rise to the 
second disagreement, which occurred in the middle of the 
city. Ten eminent men of the city, chosen for the purpose, 
had, by order of 'the people, drawn up in a body certain laws 
which had been brought from Greece, and the whole course 
of the administration of justice had been arranged in twelve 
tables; but, though the object of their office was accom- 
plished, they still retained the fasces that had been delivered 
to them, with a spirit like that of kings. Appius Claudius, 
above all the rest, advanced to such a degree of audacity, that 
he destined for dishonour a free-born virgin, forgetting both 
Lucretia, and the kings, and the laws which he himself had 
written. "When her father Yirginius, therefore, saw his 
daughter unjustly sentenced, and dragged away to slavery, he 
slew her, without any hesitation, in the midst of the forum, 
with his own hand; and, bringing up the troops of his 
fellow- soldiers, he dragged the whole band of tyrants, beset 
with an armed force, from the Aventine Mount to imprison- 
ment and chains. 

CHAP. XXV. THE SUBJECT UONTIXUED. 

The question of the propriety of intermarriages raised a 
third sedition, it being demanded that plebeians should be 
allowed to intermarry with patricians. This tumult broke 
out on Mount Janiculum, Canuleius, a tribune of the people, 
being the leader in it. 

CHAP. XXVI. THE SUBJECT CONTINUED. 

An ambition for public honours occasioned a fourth 
sedition, from a demand being made that plebeians should 
be admitted to magistracies. Fabius Ambustus, the father 
of two daughters, had married one to Sulpicius, a man of 
patrician family, and the other to Stolo, a plebeian. The 
latter, on some occasion, being rather scornfully laughed at 
by her sister, because she had been startled at the sound of 
the lictor's staff, (whicli was unknown in her family,) could 
not endure the affront. Her husband, in consequence, 
having gained the tribuneship, obtained from the senate, 
though much against their will, a share in public honours 
and offices for the plebeians. 

But in these very seditions, you may not improperly ad- 



314 FLOitus. [Book II. 

mire the conduct of this great people ; for at one time they 
supported liberty, at another chastity, at another the 
respectability of their birth 1 , at another their right to 
marks and distinctions of honour; and among all these 
proceedings, they were vigilant guardians of nothing more 
than of liberty, and could by no bribery be corrupted to 
make sale of it ; though there arose from time to time, 
as was natural among a people already great, and grow- 
ing daily greater, citizens of very pernicious intentions. 
Spurius Cassius, suspected of aiming at kingly power 
by the aid of the agrarian law, and Mselius, suspected 
of a similar design from his excessive largesses to the 
people, they punished with instant death. On Spurius, in- 
deed, his own father inflicted the punishment. Ahala, the 
master of the horse, killed Melius in the middle of the 
forum, by order of Quinctius the dictator. Manlius, also, the 
defender of the Capitol, when he behaved himself too arro- 
gantly, and unsuitably to the rank of a citizen, presuming 
on having liberated most of the debtors, they precipitated 
from that very citadel which he had preserved. In this 
manner, at home and abroad, in peace and war, did the 
Roman people pass the period of adolescence, that is to say. 
the second age of their empire, in which they subdued with 
their arms all Italy between the Alps and the sea. 

BOOK II. 

CHAP. I. INTRODUCTORY. 

After Italy was conquered and subjugated, the Eoman 
people, now approaching its five-hundredth year, and being 
fairly arrived at maturity, was then truly robust and manly, 
(if robustness and manhood may be attributed to a nation,) 
and had begun to be a match for the whole world. Accord- 
ingly (wonderful and scarcely credible to relate !) that people 
who had struggled with their neighbours at home for nearly 
five hundred years, (so difficult was it to give Italy a head,) 
overran, in the two hundred years that follow, Africa, Europe, 
Asia, and indeed the whole world, with their wars and 
victories. 

1 Ch. XXVI. Respectability of their birth] Natalium dignitatem. They main- 
tained that all citizens were of sufficiently respectable birth to intermarry with 
the patricians. 



Book II.] EPITOME OE EOMAK HISTOBY. 315 



CHAP. II. THE EIBST PUNIC WAE. 

The victor-people of Italy, having now spread over the 
land as far as the sea, checked its coarse for a little, like a 
fire, which, having consumed the woods lying in its track, is 
stopped by some intervening river. But soon after, seeing 
at no great distance a rich prey, which seemed in a manner 
detached and torn away from their own Italy, they were so 
inflamed with a desire to possess it, that since it could neither 
be joined to their country by a mole or bridge, they resolved 
- that it should be secured by arms and war, and reunited, as 
it were, to their continent 1 . And behold ! as if the Fates 
themselves opened a way for them, an opportunity was not 
wanting, for Messana 3 , a city of Sicily in alliance with them, 
happened then to make a complaint concerning the tyranny 
of the Carthaginians. 

As the Eomans coveted Sicily, so likewise did the people 
of Carthage ; and both at the same time, with equal desires 
and equal forces, contemplated the attainment of the empire 
of the world. Under the pretext, therefore, of assisting their 
allies, but in reality being allured by the prey, that rude 
people, that people sprung from shepherds, and merely accus- 
tomed to the land, made it appear, though the strangeness 
of the attempt startled them, (yet such confidence is there 
in true courage,) that to the brave it is indifferent whether a 
battle be fought on horseback or in ships, by land or by sea. 

It was in the consulship of Appius Claudius that they 
first ventured upon that strait which has so ill a name from 
the strange things 3 related of it, and so impetuous a current. 
But they were so far from being affrighted, that they re- 
garded the violence of the rushing tide as something in their 
favour, and, sailing forward immediately and without delay, 
they defeated Hiero, king of Syracuse, with so much rapidity, 
that he owned he was conquered before he saw the enemy. 
In the consulship of Duilius and Cornelius, they likewise 

3 Ch. II. Reunited, as it were, to their continent] Ad contlnentem suum re- 
vocanda hello. As hello jungenda occurs immediately before, Freinshemius and 
Duker, though they retain the latter hello in the text, as it is found in all copies, 
advise its omission. 

2 - Messana] Now Messene. 

3 That strait — strange things, <fc] The strait of Messina. "By strange 
things {monstris) he means Scylla and Charybdis." Salmasius. 



316 tlorus. [Book II. 

had courage to engage at sea, and then the expedition used 
in equipping the fleet was a presage of victory ; for within 
sixty days after the timber was felled, a navy of a hundred 
and sixty ships lay at anchor ; so that the vessels did not seem 
to have been made by art, but the trees themselves appeared 
to have been turned into ships by the aid of the gods. The 
aspect of the battle, too, was wonderful ; as the heavy and 
slow ships of the Bomans closed with the swift and nimble 
barks of the enemy. Little availed their naval arts, such as 
breaking off the oars of a ship, and eluding the beaks of the 
enemy by turning aside ; for the grappling-irons, and other 
instruments, which, before the engagement, had been greatly 
derided by the enemy, were fastened upon their ships, and 
they were compelled to fight as on solid ground. Being 
victorious, therefore, at Liparse, by sinking and scattering 
the enemy's fleet, they celebrated their first naval triumph. 
And how great was the exultation at it ! Duilius, the com- 
mander, not content with one day's triumph, ordered, during 
all the rest of his life, when he returned from supper^ lighted 
torches to be carried, and flutes to play, before him, as if he 
would triumph every day. The loss in this battle was 
trifling, in comparison with the greatness of the victory; 
though the other consul, Cornelius Asina, was cut off, being 
invited by the enemy to a pretended conference, and put to 
death ; an instance of Carthaginian perfidy. 

Under the dictatorship of Calatinus, the Romans expelled 
almost all the garrisons of the Carthaginians from Agrigen- 
tum, Drepanum, Panormus, Eryx, and Lilybaaum. Some 
alarm was experienced at the forest of Camarina, but we 
were rescued by the extraordinary valour of Calpurnius 
Mamma, a tribune of the soldiers, who, with a choice troop 
of three hundred men, seized upon an eminence occupied by 
the enemy to our annoyance 1 , and so kept them in play till 
the whole army escaped ; thus, by eminent success, equalling 
the fame of Thermopylae and Leonidas, though our hero was 
indeed more illustrious, inasmuch as he escaped and outlived 
so great an effort, notwithstanding he wrote nothing 3 with his 
blood. 

1 To our annoyance] Infestum. 

2 Notwithstanding he wrote nothing, (J*c] Licet nihil scripserit sanguine. 
" A hallucination of Florus, who inadvertently attributes to Leonidas what was 
done by Othryades. Leonidas wrote nothing with his blood, as far. at least, as 



Book II.] EPITOME OE EOMAN HISTORY. 317 

In the consulship of Lucius Cornelius Scipio, when Sicily 
was become as a suburban province of the Roman people, 
and the war was spreading further, they crossed over into 
Sardinia, and into Corsica, which lies near it. In the latter 
they terrified the natives by the destruction of the city of 
Olbia, in the former by that of Aleria ; and so effectually 
humbled the Carthaginians, both by land and sea, that nothing 
remained to be conquered but Africa itself. Accordingly, 
under the leadership of Marcus Attilius Eegulus, the war 
passed over into Africa. Nor were there wanting some on 
the occasion, who mutinied at the mere name and dread of 
the Punic sea, a tribune named Mannius increasing their 
alarm ; but the general, threatening him with the axe if he 
did not obey, produced courage for the voyage by the terror of 
death. They then hastened their course by the aid of winds 
and oars, and such was the terror of the Africans at the 
approach of the enemy, that Carthage was almost surprised 
with its gates open. 

The first prize taken in the Avar was the city of Clypea, 
which juts out from the Carthaginian shore as a fortress or 
watch-tower. Both this, and more than three hundred for- 
tresses besides, were destroyed. Nor had the Eomans to 
contend only with men, but with monsters also ; for a ser- 
pent of vast size, born, as it were, to avenge Africa, harassed 
their camp on the Bagrada. But Eegulus, who overcame all 
obstacles, having spread the terror of his name far and wide, 
having killed or taken prisoners a great number of the enemy's 
force, and their captains themselves, and having despatched 
his fleet, laden with much spoil, and stored witli materials 
for a triumph, to Borne, proceeded to besiege Carthage itself, 
the origin of the war, and took his position close to the gates 
of it. Here fortune was a little changed ; but it was only 
that more proofs of Roman fortitude might be given, the 

we learn from the writings of antiquity. But such an act is universally attri- 
buted to Othryades, both by poets and prose writers." Salmasias. Othryades 
was the survivor of the three hundred Spartans who fought with three hundred 
Argives for the right of possessing a piece of land called Thyrea. Being ashamed 
to return to Sparta alone, he slew himself on the field of battle, first writing on 
his shield, with his blood, that Thyrea belonged to the Lacsedemonians. For an 
account of the combat, see Herod., i., 82. Freinshemius thinks the words are not 
Florus's, but those of some glossator. Gronovius would read licet nonnihil 
scripserit sanguine, which would be no great improvement. 



818 florus. [Book II. 

greatness of which, was generally best shown in calamities. 
For the enemy applying for foreign assistance, and Lacedse- 
mon having sent them Xanthippns as a general, we were 
defeated by a captain so eminently skilled in military affairs. 
It was then that by an ignominious defeat, such as the 
Eomans had never before experienced, their most valiant 
commander fell alive into the enemy's hands. But he was a 
man able to endure so great a calamity ; as he was neither 
humbled by his imprisonment at Carthage, nor by the depu- 
tation which he headed to Rome ; for he advised what was 
contrary to the injunctions of the enemy, and recommended 
that no peace should be made, and no exchange of prisoners 
admitted. Even by his voluntary return to his enemies, and 
by his last sufferings, whether in prison or on the cross, the 
dignity of the man was not at all obscured. But being ren- 
dered, by all these occurrences, even more worthy of admira- 
tion, what can be said of him but that, when conquered, he 
was superior to his conquerors, and that, though Carthage had 
not submitted, he triumphed over Fortune herself? 

The Soman people were now much keener and more ardent 
to revenge the fate of Eegulus than to obtain victory. Under 
the consul Metellus, therefore, when the Carthaginians were 
growing insolent, and when the war had returned into Sicily, 
they gave the enemy such a defeat at Panormus, that they 
thought no more of that island. A proof of the greatness of 
this victory was the capture of about a hundred elephants, a 
vast prey, even if they had taken that number, not in war, but 
in hunting 1 . Under the consulship of Appius Claudius, 
they were overcome, not by the enemy, but by the gods 
themselves, whose auspices they had despised, their fleet 
being sunk in that very place where the consul had ordered 
the chickens to be thrown overboard, because he was warned 
by them not to fight. Under the consulship of Marcus 
Fabius Buteo, they overthrew, near iEgimurus, in the African 
sea, a fleet of the enemy which was just sailing for Italy. But 

1 A vast prey — not in war, but in hunting] Sic quoque magna prceda, si 
gregem ilium non hello, sed venatione cejpisset. " The sense is, it would have 
been a considerable capture if he had taken these hundred elephants, not in 
battle, but in hunting, in which more are often taken." Gravius. " In this 
explanation Perizonius acquiesced." Duker. Most readers, I fear, will wish that 
a better were proposed. 



Book II.] EPITOME OE ROMAK HISTORY. 319 

O how great materials for a triumph were then lost by a 
storm, when the Roman fleet, richly laden with spoil, and 
driven by contrary winds, covered with its wreck the coasts 
of Africa and the Syrtes, and of all the islands lying amid 
those seas 1 ! A great calamity ! Eut not without some 
honour to this eminent people, from the circumstance that 
their victory was intercepted only by a storm, and that the 
matter for their triumph was lost only by a shipwreck. Tet, 
though the Punic spoils were scattered abroad, and thrown 
up by the waves on every promontor}' and island, the Romans 
' still celebrated a triumph. In the consulship of Lutatius 
Catulus, an end was at last put to the war near the islands 
named JEgates. Nor was there any greater fight during this 
war ; for the fleet of the enemy was laden with provisions, 
troops, towers, and arms; indeed, all Carthage, as it were, 
was in it ; a state of things which proved its destruction, as 
the Eoman fleet, on the contrary, being active, light, free 
from incumbrance, and in some degree resembling a land- 
camp, was wheeled about by its oars like cavalry in a battle 
by their reins ; and the beaks of the vessels, directed now 
against one part of the enemy and now against another, pre- 
sented the appearance of living creatures. In a very short 
time, accordingly, the ships of the enemy were shattered to 
pieces, and filled the whole sea between Sicily and Sardinia 
with their wrecks. So great, indeed, was the victory, that 
there was no thought of demolishing the enemy's city; since 
it seemed superfluous to pour their fury on towers and walls, 
when Carthage had already been destroyed at sea. 

CHAP. III. THE LIGTTRIAN WAR. 

After the Carthaginian war was ended, there followed a 
time of repose indeed, but short, and as it were only to take 
breath. As a proof of peace, and of a real cessation from 

1 Coasts — of all the islands lying amid those seas] Duker's edition, and almost 
every other, has omnium imperia gentium, imularum littora, implevit, which 
Grsevius has pronounced, and others have seen, to be nonsense. Tollius for 
imperia proposed promontoria ; but I have thought it better to follow the con- 
jecture offered by Markland, (Epistle to Hare, p. 38, cited by Duker,) omnium 
inter mari jace.ntium insularum, cf-c, though this is rather bold, and not supported 
by anything similar in Florus. 



..THOTeiifrg&ififlB 10 aMOTiiac [Mdk IL 

arms, the Temple of Janus was then shut for the first 
time since the reign of jNTuma. But it was immediately 
and without delay opened again. For the Ligurians, and 
the Insubrian Gauls, as well as the Iilyrians, began to be 
troublesome. Indeed, the two former nations, situate at 
the foot of the Alps, that is, at the very entrance to Italy, 
.stirred up, apparently, by some deity, lest the Roman arms 
should contract rust and mould, and at length becoming, as it 
were, our daily and domestic enemies 1 , continued to exercise 
the young soldiery in the business of war ; and the> Romans 
whetted the sword of their valour on each of those nations as 
upon a whetstone. The Ligurians, lying close to the bottom 
of the Alps, between the" ¥ivei>s Varus and Macra, and 
shrouded in woody thickets, it was more trouble to find than 
to conquer. Defended by their position and facilities of 
escape, and being a hardy and nimble race, they rather com- 
mitted depredations as occasion offered, than made regular 
war. After all their tribes, therefore, the Salyi, the Deceates, 
the Oxybii, the Euburiates, and the Ingauri, had baffled the 
Romans for a long time with success, Fulvius at length sur- 
rounded their recesses with flames, Bsebius drew them down 
into the plains, and Posthumius so disarmed them that he 
scarcely left them iron to till the ground. 

3 

aiJ ^ fi CHAP. IT. THE GALLIC WAR. 

The Galli Insubres, who were also borderers upon the Alps , 
had the tempers of savage beasts, and bodies greater than 
human. But by experience, it was found that, as their first 
onset was more violent than that of men, so their subsequent 
conduct in battle was inferior to that of women. The bodies 
of the pepple about the Alps, reared in a moist atmosphere, 
have somewhat in them resembling their snows, and, as soon 
as they are heated in fight, run down with perspiration, and 
are relaxed witli any slight motion, as it were by the heat of 
the sun. These had often at other times sworn, but espe- 
cially under their general Britomarus, that they would not 

OldvJwo former nations — daily and domestic enemies] Utrique quotidiani et 
qyasi domestici hostes. As Floras speaks of three nations, and then says utrique, 
the commentators have been in doubt which of them are meant by that word. 
I have fallowed Salmasm*, with whom rerizonius coincide*. The IMvrians were 
more remote than the other two. 



Book II.] EPITOME OF EOMAN HISTORY. 321 

loose their belts before they mounted the Capitol. And it 
happened accordingly ; for iEmilius conquered and disarmed 
them in the Capitol. Soon after, with Ariovistus for their 
leader, they vowed to their god Mars a chain made out of the 
spoils of our soldiers. But Jupiter prevented the perform- 
ance of their vow ; for Elaminius erected a golden trophy to 
Jove out of their chains. "When Yiridomarus was their king, 
they vowed the arms of the Bomans to Vulcan ; but their 
vows had a very different result ; for Marcellus, having killed 
their king, hung up his arms to Jupiter Peretrius, being the 
third spolia opima since those of Bomulus, the father of the 
city. 

CHAP. V. 

The Illyrians, or Liburnians, live at the very root of the 
Alps, between the rivers Arsia and Titius, extending far over 
the whole coast of the Adriatic. This people, in the reign of 
a queen named Teutana, not content with depredations on the 
Boman territory, added an execrable crime to their audacity. 
Eor they beheaded our ambassadors, who were calling them 
to account for their offences ; and this death they inflicted, 
not with the sword, but, as if they had been victims for sacri- 
fice, with the axe ; they also burnt the captains of our ships 
with fire. These insults were offered, to make them the 
more offensive, by a woman. The people were in consequence 
universally reduced to subjection, by the efforts of Cnseus 
Bulvius Centimalus ; and the axe, descending on the necks 
of their chiefs, made full atonement to the manes of the am- 
bassadors. 

CHAP. VI. THE SECOjSD PUNIC WAE. 

After the first Carthaginian war, there was scarcely a rest 
of four years, when there was another war ; inferior indeed 
in length of time, (for it occupied but eighteen years,) but so 
much more terrible, from the direfulness of its havoc, that 
if any one compares the losses on both sides, the people that 
conquered was more like one defeated. What provoked this 
noble people was, that the command of the sea was forced 
from them, that their islands were taken, and that they were 
obliged to pay tribute which they had before been accustomed 
to impose. Hannibal, when but a boy, swore to his father, 
before an altar, to take revenge on the Bomans ; nor was 

y 



flohus. [Book II. 

he backward to execute his oath. Sagunturn, accordingly, was 
made the occasion of a war; an old and wealthy city of 
Spain, and a great but sad example of fidelity to the Bo- 
mans. This city, though granted, by the common treaty, 
the special privilege of enjoying its liberty, Hannibal, seeking 
pretences for new disturbances, destroyed with his own hands 
and those of its inhabitants, in order that, by an infraction of 
the compact, he might open a passage for himself into Italy. 

Among the Romans there is the highest regard to treaties, 
and consequently, on hearing of the siege of an allied city, 
and remembering, too, the compact made with the Cartha- 
ginians, they did not at once have recourse to arms, but chose 
rather to expostulate on legal grounds. In the mean time 
the Saguntines, exhausted with famine, the assaults of ma- 
chines, and the sword, and their fidelity being at last car- 
ried to desperation, raised a vast pile in the market-place, on 
which they destroyed, with fire and sword, themselves, their 
wives and children, and all that they possessed. Hannibal, 
the cause of this great destruction, was required to be given 
up. The Carthaginians hesitating to comply, Eabius, who 
was at the head of the embassy, exclaimed, " What is the 
meaning of this delay ? In the fold of this garment I carry 
war and peace ; which of the two do you choose ?" As they 
cried out ""War," "Take war, then," he rejoined, and, shaking 
out the fore-part of his toga in the middle of the senate- 
house, as if he really carried war in its folds, he spread it 
abroad, not without awe on the part of the spectators. 

The sequel of the war was in conformity with its com- 
mencement ; for, as if the last imprecations of the Sagun- 
tines, at their public self-immolation and burning of the city, 
had required such obsequies to be performed to them, atone- 
ment was made to their manes by the devastation of Italy, 
the reduction of Africa, and the destruction of the leaders and 
kings who engaged in that contest. When once, therefore, 
that sad and dismal force and storm of the Punic war had 
arisen in Spain, and had forged, in the fire of Saguntum, the 
thunderbolt long before intended for the Eomans, it imme- 
diately burst, as if hurried along by resistless violence, 
through the middle of the Alps, and descended, from those 
snows of incredible altitude, on the plains of Italy, as if it had 
been hurled from the skies. The violence of its first assault 



Book II.] EPITOME OE BWUffiffl 1 1" RTSTOKY. 

burst, with a mighty sound, between the Po and the Ticinus. 
There the arm y under Scipio was routed; and the general 
himself, being wounded, would have fallen into the hands of 
the enemy, had not his son, then quite a boy 1 , covered his 
father with his shield, and rescued him from death. This 
was 2 the Scipio who grew up for the conquest of Africa, and 
who was to receive a name from its ill-fortune. 

To Ticinus succeeded Trebia, where, in the consulship of 
Sempronius, the second outburst of the Punic war was spent. 
On that occasion, the crafty enemy, having chosen a cold and 
snowy day, and having first warmed themselves at their fires, 
' and anointed their bodies with oil, conquered us, though they 
were men that came from the south and a warm sun, by the 
aid (strange to say !) of our own winter. / 

The third thunderbolt 3 of Hannibal fell at the Trasimene 
lake, when Flaminius was commander. There also was em- 
ployed a new stratagem of Carthaginian subtlety; for a 
body of cavalry, being concealed by a mist rising from the 
lake, and by the osiers growing in the fens, fell upon the rear 
of the Romans as they were fighting. INor can we complain 
of the gods ; for swarms of bees settling upon the standards, 
the reluctance of the eagles 4 to move forward, and a great 
earthquake that happened at the commencement of the 
battle, (unless, indeed, it was the trampling of horse and 
foot, and the violent concussion of arms, that produced this 
trembling of the ground.) had forewarned the rash leader of 
approaching defeat. 

The fourth, and almost mortal wound of 'the Soman em- 
pire, was at Cannae, an obscure village of Apulia ; which, 
however, became famous by the greatness of the defeat, its 
celebrity being acquired by the slaughter of forty thousand 
men. Here the general, the ground, the face of heaven, the 
day, indeed all nature, conspired together for the destruction 

1 Ch. VI. Quite a boy] Prcetextatus admodum. " As we say admodum puer, 
admodum adolescens." Salmasius. He had but just laid aside the toga prcetexta, 
and assumed the toga virilis. 

2 This was] Hie erat. Duker and others read erit. 

3 The third thunderbolt. $c] Trasimenus locus tertium fuhnenJIamiibalis. 
Literally, " The Trasimene lake was the third thunderbolt of Hannibal," an 
affected mode of expression. 

4 Eeluctance of the eagles, $c.~] Aquilm prodirc nolentes. The standards, 
which were fixed in the ground, could scarcely be pulled up. 

t2 



824 BIH ffififfiNo ZU0T11X ^Ook II. 

of the unfortunate army. For Hannibal, the most artful 
of generals, not content with sending pretended deserters 
among the "Romans, who fell upon their rear as they were 
fighting, but having also noted the nature of the ground in 
those open plains, where the heat of the sun is extremely 
violent, the dust very great, and the wind blows constantly, 
and as it were statedly, from the east, drew up his army in 
such a position, that, while the Romans were exposed to aH 
these inconveniences, he himself, having heaven, as it were, 
on his side, fought with wind, dust, and sun in his favour. 
Two vast armies 1 , in consequence, were slaughtered till the 
enemy were satiated, and till Hannibal said to his soldiers, 
"Put up your swords." Of the two commanders, one es^ 
caped, the other was slain ; which of them showed the greater 
spirit, is doubtful. Paulus was ashamed to survive ; Yarro 
did not despair. Of the greatness of the slaughter the fol- 
lowing proofs may be noticed; that the Aufidus was for 
some time red with blood ; that a bridge was made of dead 
bodies, by order of Hannibal, over the torrent of Vergellus ; 
and that two modii 2 of rings were sent to Carthage, and the 
equestrian dignity estimated by measure. 

It was afterwards not doubted, but that Borne might have 
seen its last day, and that Hannibal, within five days, might 
have feasted in the Capitol, if (as they say that Adherbal, the 
Carthaginian, the son of Bomilcar, observed,) " he had known 
as well how to use his victory as how to gain it." But at 
that crisis, as is generally said, either the fate of the city 
that was to be empress of the world, or his own want of judg- 
ment, and the influence of deities unfavourable to Carthage, 
carried him in a different direction. "When he might have 
taken advantage of his victory, he chose rather to seek en- 
joyment from it, and, leaving Rome, to march into Campania 
and to Tarentum, where both he and his army soon lost their 
vigour, so that it was justly remarked that " Capua proved a 
Cannae to Hannibal ;" since the sunshine of Campania^ and 
the warm springs of Baia3, subdued (who could have believed 

1 Two vast armies] Duo maximi exercitus. The armies of the two consuls, 
Paulus iEmilius and Varro. 

2 Twornodii] The vrwdius, in Dr. Smith's Dictionary, is s 
-1 gall. 7.8576 pints, English measure. Two. modii will 

3| gallons. 






Book IX] EPITOME OP kdMAK HISTOEY. 325 

it r) him who had been unconquered by the Alps, and un- 
shaken in the field. In the mean time the Romans "began to 
recover, and to rise as it were from the dead. They had no 
arms, but they took them down from the temples ; men were 
wanting, but slaves were freed to take the oath of service ; 
the treasury was exhausted, but the senate willingly offered 
their wealth for the public service, leaving themselves no 
gold but what was contained in their children's lulled 1 , and 
in their own belts and rings. The knights followed their 
example, and the common people that of the knights ; so that 
when the wealth of private persons was brought to the public 
treasury, (in the consulship of Lsevinus and Marcellus,) the 
registers scarcely sufficed to contain the account of it, or the 
hands of the clerks to record it. 

But how can I sufficiently praise 2 the wisdom of the cen- 
turies in the choice of magistrates, when the younger sought 
advice from the elder as to what consuls should be created ? 
They saw = that against an enemy so often victorious, and so 
full of subtlety, it was necessary to contend, not only with 
courage, but with his own wiles. The first hope of the em- 
pire, now recovering, and, if I may use the expression, coming 
to life again, was Fabius, who found a new mode of conquering 
Hannibal, which was, not to figlit. Hence he received that new 
name, so salutary to the commonwealth, of Cunctator, or De- 
layer. Hence too it happened, that he was called by the people 
tlw shield of the empire. Through the whole of Samnium, 
and through the Falerian and Gauran forests, he so harassed 
Hannibal, that he who could not be reduced by valour, was 
weakened by delay. . The Romans then ventured, under the 
command of Claudius Marcellus, to engage him ; they came 
to close quarters with him, drove him out of his dear Cam- 
pania, and forced him to raise the siege of ]N r ola. They 
ventured likewise, under the leadership of Sempronius Grac- 

1 Bulla?] A sort of ornament suspended from the necks of children, which, 
among the wealthy, was made of gold. It was in the shape of a bubble on water, 
or as Pliny says, (H. X., xxxiii., 1,) of a heart. 

2 But how can I sufficiently praise, cfc.~\ Quid autem vi deligendis magistrati- 
bus quce centuriarum sapientia, cj-c. As these words want coherence, Granius 
would omit the quid, and read In ddigendis cmtem magistratibus qua, cjc. Duker 
thinks it sufficient to understand diccim or memorcm: Quid autem memorem — 
quce sapienticij cfc. 



SM .raoTgiH FLdsirs. [Book II % 

chus, to pursue him throiigh Lucania, and to press hard upon 
his rear as he retired; though they then fought him (sad 
dishonour!) with a body of slaves; for to this extremity had 
so many disasters reduced them; but they were rewarded 
with liberty 1 ; and from slaves they made them Eomans. 
? q Of -amazing confidence in the midst of so much adversity ! 
O extraordinary courage and spirit of the Roman people in 
such oppressive and distressing circumstances ! At a time 
when they were uncertain of preserving their own Italy, they 
yet ventured to look to other countries ; and when the enemy 
were at their throat, flying through Campania and Apulia, 
and making an Africa in the middle of Italy a , they at the 
same time both withstood that enemy, and dispersed their 
arms over the earth into Sicily, Sardinia, and Spain. 

Sicily was assigned to Marcelius, and did not long resist 
his efforts ; for the- whole island was conquered in the eon- 
quest of one city. Syracuse, its great and, till that period, 
unconquered capital, though defended by the genius of Ar- 
chimedes, was at last obliged to yield. Its triple wall, and 
three citadels, its marble harbour, and the celebrated fountain 
of Arethusa, were no defence to it, except so far as to pro- 
cure, consideration for its beauty when it was conquered. 

Sardinia Gracchus reduced; the savageness of the in- 
habitants, and the vastness of its Mad Mountains 3 , (for so 
they are called,) availed it nothing. Great severity was 
exercised upon its cities, and upon Caralis, the city of its 
cities 4 , that a nation, obstinate and regardless of death, might 
at least be humbled by concern for the soil of its country. 

1 But they were rewarded with liberty, cj-c] The whole of the concluding sen- 
tence of this paragraph, in Duker's edition, as well as most others, stands thus : 
Nam hue usque tot mala compulerant, sed libertate donatio feeen^ant de servitude 
Romanes. The passage is in some way corrupt, as all the commentators have 
noticed. Salmasitis conjectures, Sed libertate donati. Fecerat de servis virtus 
Romanes. No better emendation has been proposed. 

2 Making an Africa in the middle of Italy] All the editors have either Mediam- 
que de Italia Africamfacerent, or Mediamque jam de, $c. I have followed the 
conjecture of N. Heinsius, Medidque de Italia Africamfacerent. 

3 Mad Mountains] Insanorum montium. "A frigid and absurd conceit of 
Floras,: These mountains were on the sea, and startling in name rather than in 
reality. Livy speaks of them, lib. xxx. A Corsica in Sardiniam trajecit 
[Claudius]. Ibi super antem Insanos Montes — tempestas — disjecit classem" 
kalmasius. 

* Caralis, the city of its cities] Urbemque urbium Caralim. Now Cagliarl 



Book II.] EPITOME OF EOMA3" HISTOBY. 327 

Into Spain were sent the two Scipios, Cnaeus and Publius, 
who wrested almost the whole of it from the Carthaginians; 
hut, being surprised by the artifices of Punic subtlety, they 
again lost it. even after they had slaughtered the enemy's 
forces in great battles. The wiles of the Carthaginians cut 
off one of them by the sword, as he was pitching his camp, 
and the other by surrounding him with lighted faggots, after 
he had made his escape into a tower. But the other Scipio, 
to whom the fates had decreed so great a name from Africa, 
being sent with an army to revenge the death of his father 
■ and uncle, recovered all that warlike country of Spain, so 
famous for its men and arms, that seminary of the enemy's 
force, that instructress of Hannibal, from the Pyrensean 
mountains (the account is scarcely credible) to the Pillars of 
Hercules and the Ocean, whether with greater speed or good 
fortune, is difficult to decide ; how great was his speed, four 
years bear witness ; how remarkable his good fortune, even 
one city proves, for it was taken on the same day in which 
siege was laid to it, and it was an omen of the conquest of 
Airica that Carthage in Spain was so easily reduced. It is 
certain, however, that what most contributed to make the 
province submit, was the eminent virtue of the general, who 
restored to the barbarians certain captive youths and maidens 
of extraordinary beauty, not allowing them even to be brought 
into his sight, that he might not seem, even by a single 
glance, to have detracted from their virgin purity. 

These actions the Bomans performed in different parts of 
the world, yet were they unable, notwithstanding, to remove 
Hannibal, who was lodged in the heart of Italy. Most of 
the towns had revolted to the enemy, whose vigorous com- 
mander used even the strength of Italy against the Eomans. 
However, we had now forced him out of many towns and 
districts. Tarentum had returned to our side ; and Capua, 
the seat, home, and second country of Hannibal, was again in 
our hands ; the loss of which caused the Punic leader so 
much affliction, that he then directed all his force against 
Borne. 

O people worthy of the empire of the world, worthy ot 
the favour and admiration of all, not only men but gods ! 
Though they were brought into the greatest alarm, they 
desisted not from their original design ; though they were 



gfg YaoTSiH if&gs# s?o aMOTi^a [SJofclS 

attemptfei0n;G^fitia|obatffa¥t;of their army being left there 
with the consul Appius; and part having followed j Maceus to 
Eome, they fought farthbaf htf>^6 £n&^^ 
time. Why then should we wonder that the gods thefe 
selves^ the gods, I say, (nor shall I be ashamed 1 to admit it,) 
again opposed Hannibal as he was preparing to march for- 
ward when at three miles' distance from Borne. For. at 
every movement of his force, so copious a flood of rain 
d0seeiided, and suck a violent storm of wind arose, that it 
was evident the enemy was repulsed by divine influence, ancl 
the temlpeBt proceeded, not from heaven, but from t&e' ^alM 
of the city and the Capitol. He therefore^ fled and departed^ 
and withdrew to the furthest corner of Italy, leaving the 
eityiu a manner adored 2 . It is but a small matter to men- 
tion, yet sufficiently indicative of the magnanimity of the 
Eoman people, that 'during those very days in which the 
city was besieged, the ground which Hannibal occupied with 
his camp was offered for' sale at Borne, ancl, being put up to 
auction \ actually found a purchaser. Hannibal, on the 1 other 
side, wished to imitate such confidence, and put up for sale 
the bankers' houses in the city ; but no buyer was foiuid^^i 
that it was evident that the fates had their presages. 

But as yet nothing had been effectually accomplished by 
so much valour, or even through such eminent favour from 
the gods; for Hasclrubal, the brother of Hannibal, was ap- 
proaching with a new army, new strength, and every fresh 
requisite for war. There had doubtless been an end of 
Borne, if that general had united himself with his brother 
but Oladius ^ero, in conjunction with Livius Salinator, over- 
threw hun as he was pitching his camp, j^ero was at that 
time keeping Hannibal 'at* fey in the furthest corner of Italy; 
frrfibxi ni olrdws "eaolfioitoor boots vofiT ^o&eq "to 

1 Nor shall I be ashamed, .^c] Why should he be ashamed to admit that 
Ee>me was saved by the md of the gods? i I To receive assistance from the gods 
was a proof of merit. The gods help those who help themselves, says' the pro- 
verb. When he says that the gods '.' again opposed Hannibal/' he seems, to refer 
to what he* said above in speaking of the. battle of Cannae, that the deities, averse 
to Carthage, prevented Hannibal from marching at that time to Rome. 

2 In a. manner adored] Torttvm non adoraficm. ■ Not being able to take the 
dftyjiVsaYd Gta)viu$i !" Ihj&; Seemed to have come only to look at it and turn away, 
as those do who adore any object. This is the meaning of Fl0rtis , sxonceit. v 



Bgofcjg] EPITOME a&$3&£& HISTOEY. 

while Livius had marched to the very opposite quarter,, thai 
is,. to the very entrance and confines of Italy; and of the 
ability and expedition with which the consuls joined their 
forces, (though so vast a space, that is, the whole of ItaJ^t 
where it is longest, lay between them,) and defeated the 
enemy with their combined strength, when they expected no 
attack, and without the knowledge of Hannibal, it is difficult 
to give a notion. When Hannibal, however, bad knowledge 
of the matter, and saw his brother's head thrown down before 
his camp, he exclaimed, " I perceive the evil destiny of Car- 
tjiajge." This was his first confession of that kind, nob 
without a sure presage of his approaching fate ; and it/ was 
now certain, even from his own acknowledgment, that Han- 
nibal might be conquered. But the Roman people, full of 
confidence from so many successes, thought it would be a 
noble enterprise to subdue such a desperate enemy in his 
own Africa. Directing their whole force, therefore, unddi 
the leadership of Scipio, upon Africa itself, they began to 
imitate Hannibal, and to avenge upon Africa the sufferings 
of their own Italy. What forces of Hasdrubal, (good gods !) 
what armies of Syphax, did that commander put to; flight ! 
How great were the camps of both that he destroyed in one 
night by casting firebrands into them ! At last, not at three 
miles' distance, but by a close siege, he shook the very gates 
of Carthage itself. Ajid thus he succeeded in drawing oif Han- 
nibal when he was still clinging to and bro6ding over Italy. 
There was 310 more remarkable day, during the whole course 
of the Roman empire, than that on which those two generals, 
the greatest of all that ever lived, whether before or adrtei 
them, the one the conqueror of Italy, and the other of Spain, 
drew up their forces for a close engagement. But previously 
a conference was held between them concerning conditions 
of peace. They stood motionless awhile in admiration of 
each other. When they coald not agree on a peace, they 
gave the signal for battle. It is certain, from the confession 
of both, that no troops could have been better drawn vp, and 
no fight more obstinately maintained \ This Hannibal acknow- 
ledged concerning the army of Scipio, and Scipio concerning 
that of Hannibal. But Hannibal was forced to yield, and 
Africa became the prize of the victory ; and the whole earth 
soon followed the fate of Africa. 



330 florus. [Book II. 

CHAP. VII. THE TIKST MACEDONIAN W1E. 

When Cartilage was overcome, no nation was ashamed of 
being conquered. The people of Macedonia, Greece, Syria, 
and all other countries, as if carried away by a certain tide 
and torrent of fortune, immediately shared the destiny of 
Africa. But the first of all were the Macedonians, a people 
that had formerly aspired to the dominion of the world. 
Though Philip, therefore, was then king, the Romans seemed 
nevertheless to be fighting against king Alexander. The Ma- 
cedonian war was greater from its name than from any regard 
due to the nation itself. It had its origin from a treaty of 
Philip, by which he had joined to himself Hannibal when he 
was previously triumphant in Italy. Further cause was then 
given for it, by an application from Athens for relief against 
the injuries of the king, at a time when, beyond the just 
rights of victory, he was wreaking his fury upon their tem- 
ples, altars, and the sepulchres of the dead. To petitioners of 
such consideration the senate thought it right to give assist- 
ance ; for kings, commanders, peoples, and nations, were now 
seeking protection from this one city. Under the consul 
Lsevinus, therefore, the Roman people, having entered the 
Ionian Sea for the first time, coasted along the whole of 
Greece with their fleet, as if in triumph ; for it carried all 
the spoils of Sicily, Sardinia, Spain, and Africa; and a laurel 
that grew up 1 in the general's ship, promised certain victory. 
Attalus, king of Pergamus, came of his own accord to their 
assistance ; the Rhodians, too, came, who were a naval 
people, and who struck terror into all parts by sea with their 
ships, while the consul did the same on land with his horse 
and foot. The king was twice defeated, twice put to flight, 
and twice despoiled of his camp ; but nothing was more 
terrible to the Macedonians than the sight of their wounds, 
which were not inflicted with darts, arrows, or any Grecian 
weapon, but with huge javelins, and swords of no less 
weight, and gaped beyond what was necessary for producing 
aeatn . 

1 A laurel that grew up, cj-c] Nata in praitoria puppe law y vs. This is men- 
tioned by Livy, xxxii., 1, as having been reported to the senate by the proconsul 
P. Sulpicius. 

2 Beyond what was necessary for producing death] Ultra mortem. " Majora 
erant quam necesse esset ad mortem inferemdam." Rychius. Some copies have 
ultra morem. 



Book II.] EPITOME OF EOMAN HISTOET. 331 

Under the conduct of Flaminius, too, we penetrated the 
mountains of the Chaonians, which were before impassable, 
and the river Aous 1 , flowing through, steep places which form 
the very barriers of Macedonia. To have effected an en- 
trance, was victory ; for the king, never afterwards ventur- 
ing into the field, was forced to submission in one engage- 
ment, which indeed was far from being a regular battle, at 
the hills which they call Cynosceplialse. But the consul 
granted him peace, and restored him his kingdom ; and 
afterwards, that no enemy might be left behind, reduced 
Thebes, Eubcea, and Lacedsemon, which, was making some 
attempts at opposition under its tyrant Xabis. To Greece 
he then restored its ancient condition, allowed it to live 
according to its own laws, and to enjoy its ancient liberty. 
"What rejoicings, what shouts of pleasure, were heard, when 
this was proclaimed by the herald at the quinquennial games, 
in the theatre at jN"emea ! What an emulation of applause was 
there! what flowers did they heap upon the consul I They 
called on the herald to repeat the proclamation, in which the 
liberty of Achaia 2 was declared, again and again ; nor did 
they enjoy the declaration of the consul less than the most 
harmonious concert of flutes and harps. 
! 

CHAP. Till. THE SYBIA3T WAE AGAINST KlXa A^TIOCHUS. 

Antiochus immediately followed the fate of Macedonia 
and king Philip ; fortune, by a certain influence, and as if 
by design, directing affairs in such a manner, that as the 
empire had advanced from Africa into Europe, so, from 
occasions spontaneously presenting themselves, it might 
proceed from Europe into Africa, and that the order 
of its victories might keep its course according to the 
situation of the quarters of the world. As far as the report 
of it was concerned, there never was any war more formi- 
dable, when the Romans reflected upon the Persians and the 
east, upon Xerxes and Darius, and the times when impassable 
mountains are said to have been cut through, and the sea to 
have been hidden with sails. An apparent menace from 

1 Aous] A river of Illyricum, flowing into the Ionian Sea, mentioned by Livy, 
xxxii., 21, xxxviii., 49. 

2 Achaia] The name which the Romans gave to Greece as their province. 



heaven also alarmed them, for Apollo, at Cumse, was in a con- 
stant perspiration ; but tliis was only the fear of trie god, 
under concern for his beloved Asia. 

To say the truth, no country is better furnished with men, 
money, and arms, than Syria; but it had fallen into the hands 
of so spiritless a' monarch, that the highest praise of Antiochus 
was that he was conquered by the Romans. There were 
two persons who impelled the king to this war ; on the one 
hand Thoas, prince of iEtolia, who complained that his ser- 
vice in the war against Macedonia had not been sufficiently 
rewarded by theEomans ; on the other, Hannibal, who, con- 
quered in Africa, exiled from his country, and impatient of 
peace, was seeking through the whole world for an enemy to 
the Soman people. And how great would the danger have 
been to Eome, if the king had been guided by his directions, 
that is, if the desperate Hannibal had wielded the whole 
power of Asia! But the king, trusting to his resources, and 
to the mere title of monarch, thought it enough, to begin 
the war 1 . Europe^ without dispute, was now the property 
of the Eomans ; but Antiochus demanded from them Lysi- 
maehia, a city founded by his ancestors on the coast of 
Thrace, as if it were his by hereditary right. By the influ- 
ence of this star 3 , so to speak, the tempest of the Asiatic 
war was raised. But this greatest of kings, content with 
having boldly declared war, and having marched out of Asia 
with a great noise and tumult, and taken possession of the 
islands and coasts of Greece, thought of nothing but ease 
and luxury j as if he were already conqueror. 

The Euripus divides from the continent the island of 
Euboea, which is close to it, by a narrow strait, the waters of 
which are continually ebbing and flowing. Here Antiochus, 
having erected tents of cloth of gold and silk, close to the 
murmuring noise of the stream, while the music of flutes and 
stringed instruments mingled with the sound of the waters, 

1 Ch. VIII. To begin the war] Bellum movere. So, jusfbeloW, : content us 
firmer mdixisse helium. 

2 This star] Hoc velut sidere. " That is, this dispute was the cause of the 
Asiatic war, as the rising or setting of certain stars, such as Arcturus. the 
Hyades, and Pleiades, occasions tempests. Xam id tempestatis sce.pe certo alfquo 
ccdi signo commotentur, sic in hac comitiorum tempestate popular i scepe intelli- 
gas, quo signo commota sit: Cie. pro Mur'am., c. 17." Dtiker. 



IJqoJkXL] EPITOME OF.BOMAf HISTOKY. 8gg 

and haying collected roses, though it was winter, from. all 
quarters, formed levies, that he might seem in every way a 
general, of damsels and youths. Such a king, already van- 
quished by his own luxury, the Eoman people, under the 
command of the consul Acilius Grlabrio, having approached 
while he was still on the island, compelled him to flee from 
it by the very news of their coming. Having then overtaken 
him, as he was fleeing with precipitation, at Thermopylae, a 
place memorable. for the, glorious death of the three hundred 
Spartans, they obliged him (not having confidence in the 
ground so as to make resistance; even there) to flee before 
them by sea and land. "Without the least delay they pro- 
ceeded straight into Syria. The king's fleet was committed 
to Polyxenides and Hannibal, for Antiochus himself could 
not endure to look on the fight ; and it was wholly destroyed 
by the Roman general, iEmilius Kegillus, the Bhodians lend- 
ing him their assistance. Let not Athens plume. itself on its 
victories ; in Antiochus we conquered a Xerxes ; in iEmilius 
we equalled Themistocles ; in our triumph at Ephesus 1 we 
matched that at Salamis. 

The Eomans then determined on the entire subjugation of 
Antiochus under the generalship of the consul Scipio, whom 
his brother Africanus, recently conqueror of Carthage, volun- 
tarily accompanied in the character of lieutenant-general. 
The king had given up the whole of the sea ; but we pro- 
ceeded beyond it. Our camp was pitched by the river 
Mseander and Mount Sipylus. Here the king had taken his 
position, with so many auxiliary and other forces as is quite 
incredible. There were three hundred thousand foot, and 
no less a number, in proportion 2 , of cavalry and chariots 
armed with scythes. He had also defended his army, on 
either side, with elephants of a vast size, making a gay ap- 
pearance with gold, purple, silver, and their own ivory. But 
all this mighty force was embarrassed by its own vastness, as 

1 In our triumph at Ephesus] Ephesiis. "We must read i^eso, for the 
Romans did not fight with the Epheslans, hut with the fleet of Antiochus at 
Myonesus, not far from Ephesus." Grcevius. 

2 Nojess a number, in proportion, $c.^\ Equitum fcdcatorumque curruuvi non 
minor numerus. It is necessary to supply the words in proportion in the trans- 
lation. " The sense is, that the number of cavalry and chariots was not less 
than the multitude of infantry required." Freinshemius. 



334 ixorus. [Book II. 

well as by a shower of rain, which, pouring down on a sudden, 
had, with wonderful luck for us, spoiled the Persian bows. 
There was at first consternation, next flight, and then a 
triumph. To Antiochus, vanquished and suppliant, it was 
resolved to grant peace and a portion of his kingdom ; and 
this the more readily, because he had so easily yielded. 

CHAP. IX. THE JETOLIA3* WAB. 

To the Syrian war succeeded, as was to be expected, that 
of iEtolia ; for after Antiochus was conquered, the E/Omans 
pursued the incendiaries of the Asiatic war. The charge of 
taking vengeance on them was committed to Pulvius JSTobi- 
lior, who immediately, with his engines of war, assaulted 
Ambracia, the metropolis of the nation, and sometime the 
royal residence of Pyrrhus. A surrender followed. The 
Athenians and Bhodians supported the intreaties of the 
iEtolians for mercy ; and, as we remembered the aid 1 which 
they had given us, we resolved to pardon them. But the 
war spread widely amongst their neighbours, and through all 
Cephallenia and Zacynthus ; and whatever islands lie in that 
sea between the Ceraunian mountains and the promontory 
of Malea, became a portion of our conquests in that war. 

• 

CHAP. X. THE ISTEIAN WAR. 

The Istrians shared the fortune of the iEtolians, whom 
they had recently assisted in their Avarlike efforts. The 
commencement of the enemy's military operations was 
successful, but that very success was the cause of their 
overthrow. Por after they had taken the camp of Cnaeus 
Manlius, and were devoting themselves to the enjoyment 
of a rich spoil, Appius Pulcher attacked them as they 
were mostly feasting and revelling, and not knowing, from 
the influence of their cups, where they were. Thus they 
yielded up their ill-gotten prey with their blood and breath. 
Apulo, their king, being set on horseback, because he was 
constantly stumbling from intoxication and lightness of head, 
could scarcely be made sensible, after he came to himself, 
that, he was a prisoner. 

1 Ch. IX. We remembered the aid, <fc] "The assistance which they had 
given us against Philip, which Hannibal, in Livy, xxxvi., 7, and Livy himself, 



Book II.] EPITOME OE EOMAK HISTOET. 

CHAP. XI. THE GALLO-GRECIA^ WAR. 

The disaster of the Syrian war involved in it also the 
Gallo- Grecians. Whether they had really been among the 
auxiliaries of king Antiochus, or whether Manlius, too 
desirous of a triumph, merely pretended that they were, is 
doubtful. But it is certain that, though he was successful, 
a triumph was denied him, because the senate did not ap- 
prove of his reasons for the war. 

The nation of the G-allo- Grecians, as the name itself indi- 
cates, were mixed and adulterated relics of the Gauls who 
had devastated Greece under Brennus, and who afterwards, 
inarching eastwards, settled in the interior of Asia. But as 
the seeds of fruits degenerate when their soil is changed, so 
the native savageness of those settlers was softened by the 
gentle air of Asia. In two battles, therefore, they were 
routed and dispersed, although they had left their abodes at 
the enemy's approach, and retreated to certain lofty moun- 
tains which the Tolostobogi and Testosagi then occupied. 
Both these tribes, being harassed with slings and arrows, sur- 
rendered themselves, promising to observe uninterrupted 
peace. But those that had been captured excited our won- 
der by attempting to bite their chains with their teeth, 
and offering their throats one to another to be strangled. 
The wife of king Orgiagon, having suffered violence at the 
hands of a centurion, made her escape, by a remarkable 
effort, from her guards, and brought the soldier's head, which 
she had cut off, to her husband. 



CHAP. XII. THE SECOND MACEDONIAN WAR. 

While nation after nation fell in the ruin of the Syrian 
war, Macedonia again roused herself. The recollection and 
consideration of their former eminence excited that brave 
people to action. To Philip had succeeded his son Perses, 
who thought it unbecoming the dignity of the nation, that 
Macedonia, by being once conquered, should be conquered 
for ever. The Macedonians accordingly arose under him 

lib. xxxiii., thought of so much consequence, that they attribute to it the tictiwy 
of the Romans. Julian, too, in his Caesars, speaks highly of the ,Etolians, and says 
that they were not conquered by the Romans without extreme hazard."' Fnhi.- 
shemius. 



TffOTSIH VE£©BHSIQ IIMOTISa: JBbak.JIL 

with much more spirit fchaai> ftfaey Mil ^o^iuuiHlfMhis? faMier^ 
They induced the' [Etaa£iMis;;tarJ^^^ 

tempered the dexterity of the Macedonians with: iheTr©¥usb 
valour of the Thradian^ and^jthe^^ng^iTit-of fctfeifEnW- 
cians with the discipline of the ■■ Macedonians. Toi this aste 
rangement was added the pntience of the prince, who • having 
surveyed the face of the country from: lie top of Ifemus, 
and having pitched several camps in steep plaoe&,r/had so 
secured. his_ kingdom with' men and arms r that *he-;seemedi;bd> 
have left no access for &aemie% -i^idesB^ti!^y^.caiaedc^^^c4B 
heaven. [gmxriid erTT 

But the Romans 1 , under the consul fMarciius IBhilipjwas; 
having entered the province, and having carefully explored 
the approaches by the lake of Astrus 2 , over troublesome mill 
dangerous hills, and heights which seemed inaccessible even 
to birds, forced a passage for themselves, and, by a sudden 
inroad of war, alarmed the king, who was lying secure, and 
apprehending nothing of the kind. His consternation was 
so great, that he ordered all his money to be thrown into the 
sea, lest it should be lost 3 , and his fleet to be bmmBdfilesfcit 
should be set on fire. 

Under the consul Paulus, when stronger garrisons, in 
great numbers, had been stationed on the frontiers, Mace- 
donia was surprised by other ways, through the consummate 
art and perseverance of the general, who made a feint on 
one part, and effected an entrance at another; and whose 
mere approach was so alarming to the king,, that he durst 
not meet the enemy in the field, but committed the manage- 
ment of the struggle to his generals. Being vanquished, 
therefore, in his absence, he fled to the sea, and took refuge 
in the island of Samothrace, trusting to the well-known 

1 But the Romans] Nam—populus Romanus. As nam seems out of place 
here, N. Eeinsius suggested tamen. 

2 The lake of Astrus] Astrudem paludem. As this lake is nowhere else men- 
tioned, the critics in general think the passage corrupt ; and Salmasius proposes 
to read Bistonidem paludem. Livy, in his narrative of the same circumstances, 
(xliv., 2,) has Ascuridem paludem. 

3 Thrown into the sea, lest it should he lost, <J*c] An allusion, as Freinshemius 
thinks, to Martial, Ep. ii., 80: 

Hostem cumfugeret, se Fannius ipse peremit : 
Die rogo, nonjuror est, ne moriare, mori ? 
Fannius, to 'scape his foes, stopp'd his own breath : 
Was he not mad to die from fear of death ? 



look II.] EPITOME 0RH03O3S' HISTOEY. 

sanctity of the place, as if temples and altars could protect 
him whom his mountains and arms could not defend. 

Xo monarch longer cherished regret for his lost dignity. 
When he wrote as a suppliant to the Roman general, from 
the temple to which he had fled, and set his name to the 
letter, he added King to it. But no general- was ever more 
respectful to captive majesty than Pauhis. "When his enemy 
came within sight, he invited him into his tent, entertained 
him at his own table, and admonished his own sons to icor- 
sliipforiun e whose jdfctaaK mas m grecst^ 

The triumph over Macedonia the Eonian people also estit 
mated and viewed as among the most glorious that they had 
ever known; for they occupied three days in witnessing it. 
The first day displayed the statues and pictures ; the second, 
the arms and treasures; and the third, the captives and the 
king himself, who was still in a state of amazement, and as it 
were stupified at the suddenness: of his calamity. 

The people of Eome received the joyful news of this victory 
long before they learned it from the general's letter ; for it 
was known at Eome on the very same day on which Perses 
was conquered. Two young men, with white horses, were 
seen cleansing themselves from dust and blood at the lake of 
Juturna ; and these brought the news. It was generally sup- 
posed that they were Castor and Pollux, because they were 
two ; that they had been present at the battle, because they 
were wet with blood ; and that they had come from Mace- 
donia, because they were still out of breath. 

CHAP. XIII. THE ILLYBIA3T WAS. 

The contagion of the Macedonian war involved the II- 
lyTians. They had served in it, having been hired by king 
Perses to harass the Eomans in the rear. They were sub- 
dued without loss of time by the pra3tor Anicius. It was only 
necessary to destroy Scorda the capital, and a surrender im- 
mediately followed. The war was indeed finished before the 
news reached Eome that it was commenced. 
[ 

CHAP. XIV. THE THIRD MACEDONIA* TVAK. 

. , -111 

By some appointment oi destiny, as it it had been so 
agreed between the Carthaginians and Macedonians, that 

z 



338 floeus. [Book II. 

they should each be conquered a third time, both assumed 
arms at the same juncture, though the Macedonians took the 
lead in shaking off the yoke, being grown more formidable 
than before by having been despised. The occasion of the war 
is almost to be blushed at ; for one Andriscus, a man of the 
lowest rank, seized the throne, and commenced a war against 
the Eomans, at the same time. "Whether he was a freeman 
or a slave is doubtful, but it is certain that he had worked 
for pay. Being, however, from a resemblance to king Philip, 
generally called Pseudo-Philip, he sustained the person and 
name of a king with the spirit of a. king. The Eomans 
slighting these proceedings on his part, and being content 
with the services of the praetor Juventius against him, 
rashly engaged the man when he was strengthened not only 
with the troops of Macedonia, but also with vast forces from 
Thrace,, and they that were invincible against real kings, 
were defeated by this imaginary and pretended king. But 
under the consulship of Metellns they took ample revenge 
for the loss of their praetor and his legion ; for they not only re- 
duced Macedonia to servitude, but brought the leader in the 
war, who was given up to them by a petty prince of Thrace 
to whom he fled, in chains to the city, Fortune indulgently 
granting him this favour in his misfortunes, that the Eoman 
people triumphed over him as a real king. 
■ 

CHAP. XV. THE THIRD PUNIC WAK. 

The third war with Africa was both short in its duration, 
(for it was finished in four years,) and, compared with those 
that preceded it, of much less difficulty ; as we had to fight, 
not so much against troops in the field, as against the city 
itself; but it was far the greatest of the three in its conse- 
quences, for in it Carthage was at last destroyed. And if any 
one contemplates the events of the three periods, he will 
understand that the war was begun in the first, greatly 
advanced in the second, and entirely finished in the third. 

The cause of this war was, that Carthage, in violation of an 
article in the treaty, had once fitted out a fleet and army 
against the Numidians, and had frequently threatened the 
frontiers of Masinissa. But the Eomans were partial to this 
good king, who was also their ally. 



Book II.] EPITOME OF E03IA-^T HISTOET. 339 

"When the war had been determined upon, they had to con- 
sider about the end of it. Cato, even when his opinion was 
asked on an}' other subject, pronounced, with implacable 
enmity, that Carthage should be destroyed. Scipio Nasica 
gave his voice for its preservation, lest, if the fear of the rival 
city were removed, the exultation of Rome should grow ex- 
travagant. The senate decided on a middle course, resolving 
that the city should only be removed from its place ; for 
nothing appeared to them more glorious than that there 
should be a Carthage which should not be feared. In the 
consulship of "\Ianlius and Censorinus, therefore, the Roman 
people having attacked Carthage, but giving them some hopes 
of peace, burned their fleet, which they voluntarily delivered 
up, in sight of the city. Having next summoned the chief 
men, they commanded them to quit the place if they wished 
to preserve their lives. This requisition, from its cruelty, so 
incensed them, that they chose rather to submit to the utmost 
extremities. They accordingly bewailed their necessities 
publicly, and shouted with one voice to arms ; and a resolu- 
tion was made to resist the enemy by every means in their 
power ; not because any hope of success was left, bnt because 
they had rather their birthplace should be destroyed by the 
hands of the enemy than by their own. "With what spirit 
they resumed the war, may be understood from the facts that 
they pulled down their roofs and houses for the equipment of 
a new fleet ; that gold and silver, instead of brass and iron, 
was melted in their forges for the construction of arms ; and 
that the women parted with their hair to make cordage for 
the engines of war. 

Under the command of the consul Mancinus, the siege was 
warmly conducted both by land and sea. The harbour was 
dismantled of its works, and a first, second, and even third 
w T all taken, while nevertheless the Byrsa, which was the name 
of the citadel, held out like another city. But though the 
destruction of the place was thus very far advanced, it was 
the name of the Scipios only that seemed fatal to Africa. 
The government, accordingly, applying to another Scipio, 
desired from him a termination of the war. This Scipio, the 
son of Paulus Macedonicus, the son of the great Africanus 
had adopted as an honour to his family, and, as it appeared, 
with this destiny, that the grandson should overthrow the 

z2 




£|g .TkoxaiH 3$gft *<> skot [ifcM 

city which the grandfather had shaken, 
dying beasts are wont to be most fatal, 
trouble with Carthage half-ruined, than when it was in its 
full strength. The Eomans baying shut the enemy up in 
their single fortress, had also blockaded the harbour; but 
upon this they "dug another harbour on the other side of the 
city, not ; with a design to escape, but because no one supposed 
that they could even force an outlet there! Here a new fleet, 
as if just born., started forth ; and, in the mean while, some- 
times by day and sometimes by night, some new mole, some 
new machine, some new band of desperate • inen, perpetually 
started up, like a sudden flame from a fire sunk in ashes. At 
last, their affairs becoming desperate, forty thousand men, 
and (what is hardly credible) .with Hasdrubal at their head, 
surrendered themselves. How much more nobly did a 
woman behave, the wife of the general, who, taking hold of her 
two children, threw herself from the top of her house into 
the midst of the flames, imitating the queen that "built Car- 
thage. How great a city was then destroyed, is shown, to 
say nothing of other things, by the duration of the fire, for 
the flames coiud^areely fe^ extinguished at the end of seven- 
teen daysr, flames which the enemy themselves had raised in 
their houses, ani, temples, that since the city could not be 
rescued, .from, the Eomans, all matter for triumph might at 

^^Bft^F^d- auomsti edi toftA .anna njmro> : 
-afiiL rldrw ton .shrzr has ysLjfiTL «o [i^EtftL .esiib owi \ 

CHAP. XTI. THE ACH^AK W r AE. 
-19q fJJ¥ MO .01977 tl ah ,1 _ . _ .OHO snOIT££" JII91 

As if this age had been destined for the subversion of 
cities, Corinth, the metropolis . of Achaia, the ornament of 
Greece, situated,. as. if for an object of admiration, between 
the Ionian and 2Sgean Seas, soon after shared the fate of 
Carthage. This city (a pro.cee^ing; unworthy of the Kom.a-ii 
name) was destroyed even before it was counted among the 
number of undoubted enemies. The cause of the war was 
Critolaus 1 , who used the liberty granted him hy the Eomans 
against themselves, and insulted the ambassadors sent from 
Eome, whether by personal violence is doubtful, but cer- 
tainly by words. E evenge for this affront was committed 
to Moteilus, who was at that time settling the state of Ma- 
ton tBJjJgJ^jjAi-L; . | t apiqbS, $<nft odj lo smii odt 
* Cn. XVI. Critolaus] He was chief of the Achaean league. 



%°ffi3 EMTOMEOTJJjg^HISTOET. §g£ 

place, MetelluSj now consul, cut to pieces the force of Crito- 
laus on the open^plains of Elis, and along the whole course of 
the Alpheus. The war was indeed ended in one battle ; and 
a siege threatened the city itself; but, (such is the fortune of 
events,) after J\f etellus nad fought, Mummius came to take 
the .victory. He scattered, far and wide, the army of the 
other general Diseus, at the very entrance of the Isthmus, 
and dy ect its" two. Harbours wim^mobaj; At length the city. 
being forsaken by the inhabitants, was first plundered, and 
then pulled down to the sound of trumpets.' "What a profu- 
sion of statues, of garments, of pictures, was then burnt or 
scattered abroad ! How great wealth the general then both 
carried off and burned, /may be known from this fact, that 
whatever Corinthian brass is held in esteem throughout the- 
world, we find to have been the relics of that conflagration. 
The ruin of that most opulent city even made the value of this 
brass the greater, inasmuch as, when many statues and images 
were melted together in the fire, veins of brass, gold, and 
silver, ran together into one mass J/^ J^ ' 

CHAP. XVII. AEFAIHS IX " SPAlS. ' } ^ 

As Corinth followed the fortune of Carthage, so Numantia 
followed that of Corinth. Xor was there a single place, ! 
throughout the whole world, that was afterwards untouched 
by the Roman arms. After the famous conflagrations of 
these two cities,, there was war far and wide, not witli diffe- 
rent nations one after another, but, as it were, one war per- 
vading the whole world at the same time;' so that those 
cities seemed, as if by the action of the winds, to have dis- 
persed certain sparks of war over the whole globe. Spain 
never had the determination to rise in a body against us ; it 
never thought of uniting its strength, or making an effort for 
empire, or combining for a general defence of its liberty ; 
else it is so surrounded on all sides by the sea and the 
Pyrenees, that, by the very nature of its situation, it is 
secure from all attacks. But it was beset by the Romans 
before it knew itself, and was the only one of all their pro- 
vinces that did not discover its strength till it was subdued. 

The war in this country lasted nearly two hundred years, 
from the time of the first Scipios to Ca?sar Augustus, not 



842 floetjs. [Book II. 

continuously or without intermission, but as occasions excited 
the Romans; nor was the dispute at first with the Spa- 
niards, but with the Carthaginians in Spain, from whom pro- 
ceeded the contagion, and connexion, and causes of all the 
contentions. The two Scipios, Publius and Cnseus, carried 
the first Roman standards over the Pyrensean mountains, and 
defeated Hanno, and Hasdrubal the brother of Hannibal, in 
important battles ; and Spain would have been carried as it 
were by assault, had not those gallant men been surprised 
by Punic subtlety in the height of victory, and cut off at a 
time when they were conquerors by land and sea. That 
Scipio, therefore, who was afterwards called Afrieanus, the 
avenger of his father and uncle, entered the country as a 
new and fresh province, and having speedily taken Carthage 1 
and other cities, and not being content with having expelled 
the Carthaginians, made the province tributary to us, reduced 
under our dominion all places on either side of the Iberus, 
and was the first of the Roman generals that prosecuted a 
victorious course to Grades and the mouth of the Ocean 3 . 

But it is a greater matter to preserve a province 3 than to 
acquire one. G-enerals were accordingly despatched into 
several parts of the country, sometimes one way, sometimes 
another, who, with much difficulty, and many bloody engage- 
ments, taught those savage nations, which had till then been 
free, and were consequently impatient of control, to submit 
to the Roman yoke. Cato the Censor humbled the Celtibe- 
rians, the main strength of Spain, in several battles. Gracchus, 
the father of Tiberius and Caius Gracchus, inflicted on the 
same people the demolition of a. hundred and fifty cities. 
Metellus, who was surnamed Macedonicus, deserved also to 
be called Celtibericus, for when he had with great glory 
reduced Contrebia and the Nertobriges 4 , he with greater 
glory spared them. Lucullus conquered the Turduli and 
YaccaBi, from whom the younger Scipio, having been chal- 

1 Ch. XVII. Carthage] That is, New Carthage, in Spain. 

2 Mouth of the Ocean] Oceani ova. The Strait of Gibraltar, Fretum 
Gaditanum. 

3 A greater matter to preserve a province, cj-c] He makes the same observa- 
tion in b. iv., c. 12. 

4 The Nertobriges] This word is probably corrupt. It ought apparently to be 
the name of a town, not of a people: and it has been proposed to substitute 
Nertdbrigam. 



Book II.] EPITOME OE SNgS&m HISTOBY. 343 

lenged by their king to a single combat, carried off the 
spolia opima. Decimus Brutus, taking a somewhat wider 
range, overcame the Celts and Lusitanians, and all the tribes 
of Grallsecia, crossed the river of Oblivion 1 , an object of dread 
to the soldiers, and having pursued a victorious route along 
the shore of the Ocean, did not turn back until he beheld, not 
without some dread and apprehension of being guilty of 
impiety, the sun descend into the sea, and his fire buried in 
the waters. 

But the main difficulty of the war was with the Lusitanians 
and Numantines : and not without reason ; for they alone, of 
all the nations of Spain, had the good fortune to have 
leaders. There would, indeed, have been difficulty enough 
with all the Celtiberians, had not Salendieus, the author of 
their insurrection, been cut off at the beginning of the war. 
He would have been a great man, from the union of craft and 
daring in his character, if the course of events had favoured 
him. Brandishing a silver spear, which he pretended to 
have been sent him from heaven, and conducting himself 
like a prophet, he drew upon him the attention of every one. 
But having, with corresponding rashness, penetrated tire 
camp of the consul in the night, he was slain near his tent by 
the javelin of a sentinel. The Lusitanians Viriathus stirred 
up, a man of the most consummate craft, who, from a hunter 
becoming a robber, was from a robber suddenly made a 
leader and commander, and who would have been, if fortune 
had seconded his attempts, the Romulus of Spain. Not con- 
tent with defending the liberty of his countrymen, he for 
fourteen years wasted all that belonged to the Bomans, on 
both sides of the Iberus and Tagus, with fire and sword. 
He attacked the camps of praetors and governors, defeated 
Claudius Unimanus, with the almost utter destruction of his 
army, and erected, in the mountains of his country, trophies 
adorned with the robes and fasces which ho had taken from 
our generals. At last the consul Fabius Maximus overcame 
him, but his victory was disgraced by his successor, Pompi- 

1 The river of Oblivion] Otherwise called Limia, or Limius. Slrabo, lib. iii. ; 
Pomp. Mel., iii., 1 ; Cellar., ii., 1. It was called the river of Oblivion from the 
loss of some troops on its banks, in some of the contentions of the Spaniards 
among themselves. The word transiit, or some such verb, is, as .Duker observes, 
wanting in the text. 



.TH0T8IH TJl5CW^%0 3M0TH1 [B.Ook II. 

lius, who, eager to bring the matter to an end, proceeded 
against the hero, when he was weakened and meditating a 
surrender, by the aid of fraud and treachery and domestic 
assassins, and conferred upon his adversary the glory of 
seeming to have been invincible by any other means. ..]'.j- vcf 

INumantia, however inferior to Carthage, Capua, and Co- 

3^$Jb 4^^%l|fenlWff^^g^[%}qY^ olu / au( i distinction, 
equal to them ail. If we look to the conduct of its inhabi- 
tants, it was the greatest glory of Spain ; for, though, without 
a wall, without towers, = situate only on a slight ascent by the 
river ,lDouro, and manned only with four thousand Celti- 
berians, it held out. alone, for the space: of fourteen years, 
against an army of forty thousand men ; nor clicl it hold out 
merely, but also several times repulsed them 1 , and forced 
them to dishonourable . treaties. At last, when it was found 
impregnable by its present assailants, it was necessary, they 
thought, to , apply to him who had destroyed Carthage. .. ., 

.Scarcely ever, if we- may confess the truth, was the pretext 
for a war more unjust. The iNnman tines had sheltered cer- 
tain Segidians, some of their own allies and relatives, who 
had escaped .from the hands of the Bomans. The interces- 
sion which they made fqr these refugees had no -effect^ and 
when they ;. offered to withdraw themselves from all concern 
in the war,, they were told to lay doiai their arms as the con- 
dition of a treaty on fair ; terms. .This was understood by the 
barbarians to signify that, their hands were to be cut off. In 
consequence they immediately fle^w to arms, and under the 
conduct of JVtegara, a very determined leader, attacked Pom- 
peius ; yet, when they might have cut his army to pieces, 
thejr chose rather to make a treaty with him. They had next 
for an assailant Hostilius Mancinns, whose troops they so 
dispirited, by. continual slaughters, that not a man of them 
could endure the looks or voice of a JSTumantine. Yet, when 
they might have pit all his followers to the sword, they pre- 
ferred making a treaty also with him, and were content with 

: c&8 f .iir ,.0^0 Jh^r/ oi 9 u 
1 Ch. XVIII. Several times repulsed them] Scejnus aliqiumdo perculit. This 
is the reading preferred by Lipsius.. Duker has scmVtf, which . Grtevius inter- 
prets Soivius quam Carthago, Capua, et Corinthus. But these names are at too 
great a distance for such an interpretation. «^ 10W dgiiI£q3 " . 



Bfoi'-'lfi] EPITOME OF HOMES' HISTOET. 345 

(Mpoiling Ms men of their arms. But the people of Rome, 
incensed at the ignominy and shame of this Xuniantirie 
treaty, no less than at the Caudine treaty of former days, 
expiated- the dishonour of their miscarriage, for the present, 
by the surrender of Mancinu^ 1 . But afterwards, under the 
leadership of Scipio, who was .prepared by the burning of 
Carthage for the destruction of cities, thev grew outrageous 
for- revenge. 

At first, however, Scipio had a harder struggle in the camp 
than in the field, with our. own troops than with those of 
j^umantia. For the soldiery, under his orders, were of neces- 
sity exercised in constant, excessive, and even servile labour 2 . 
Such as knew not how to bear arms, were ordered to carry an 
extraordinary number of stakes for ramparts ; and such as 
were unwilling to be stained with blood, were forced to 
defile themselves with dirt. Besides, all the women and ser- 
vant-bovs, and all baggage except what was requisite for use, 
was dismissed. 

Justly has it been said, that an army is of the same worth as 
its leader. "When the troops were thus reduced to discipline,, 
a'^attle was fought, and that was effected which none had 
ever expectedjto see, namely, that every one saw the I^uman- 
tines fleeing. They were even willing to surrender them- 
selves, if nothing but what was endurable by men had been 
required of them. But as Scipio was eager for a full and 
absolute victory, they were brought to such despair, that, 
having gorged themselves, as if for a funeral-banquet, with , 
half-raw flesh and celicfi, (a name which they give to a drink 
of the country made from corn,) they rushed out to battle with 
a determination to die. Their object was understood by our 

1 By the surrender of Mancinus] Deditione Mancini. ^lancinns .was placed, 
by the consul Publius Furius, at the gate, of Xumantia, unarmed, and with his 
hands tied behind him. But the Numantines refused to receive him. See Veil. 
Pat., ii., 90. 5. The subject is also mentioned by Appian, and by Plutarch, Life 
of Tib. Gracchus. " bllfOO 

• 2 Excessive— labour] Injustis—operibus. L * Injustus" saysDuker, u for immo- 
dicus and nimbus. Some have proposed fo read iasuetis^ but Madame Dacier 
defends injustus by a reference to Virgil, Geo., iii., 346: 

Hcmd secns acpatrih acer Rouymm hi armis, 

Injusio subfasce viam dum carpiV 

iCelia-} A sort of cerevisia. or beer. See Plin.. H. X., sxii., 25. "Probably," 
says Schellcr, "a Spanish word." 



346 plortjs. [Book II. 

general, and to men defying death' the opportunity of 
fighting was not granted. But when famine pressed hard 
upon them, (as they were surrounded with a trench and 
breastwork, and four camps,) they intreated of Scipio to be 
allowed the privilege of engaging with him, desiring that he 
would kill them as men, and, when this was not granted, 
they resolved upon making a sally. A battle being the con- 
sequence, great numbers of them were slain, and, as the 
famine was still sore upon them, the survivors lived for 
some time on their bodies 1 . At last they determined to nee ; 
but this their wives prevented, by cutting, with great 
treachery, yet out of affection, the girths of their saddles. 
Despairing, therefore, of escape, and being driven to the 
utmost rage and fury, they resolved to die in the following 
manner. They first destroyed their captains, and then them- 
selves and their native city, with sword and poison and 
a general conflagration. Peace be to the ashes of the most 
brave of all cities ; a city, in my opinion, most happy in its 
very sufferings ; a city which protected its allies with honour, 
and withstood, with its own force, and for so long a period, 
a people supported by the strength of the whole world. 
Being overpowered at length by the greatest of generals, it 
left no cause for the enemy to rejoice over it. Its plunder, 
as that of a poor people, was valueless ; their arms they had 
themselves burnt ; and the triumph of its conquerors was 
only over its name. 

CHAP. XIX. SUMMARY OF THE UOMAtf WARS EOR TWO 
HUTOEED XEAES. 

Hitherto the Eoman people had been noble, honourable, 
pious, upright, and illustrious. Their subsequent actions in 
this age, as they were equally grand, so were they more tur- 
bulent and dishonourable, their vices increasing with the 
very greatness of their empire. So that if any one divides 
this third age, which was occupied in conquest beyond the 
sea, and which we have made to consist of two hundred 
years, into two equal parts, he will allow, with reason and 
justice, that the first hundred years, in which they subdued 

1 Lived for some time on their bodies] Atiquantisper hide vixere. The com- 
mentators agree in giving this sense to inde. See Val. Max., vii., 6, 2. 



Book II.] EPITOME OF EOMAH" HISTOEY. 

Africa, Macedonia, Sicily, and Spain, were (as the poets 
sing) golden years ; and that the other hundred, which to 
the Jugurthine, Cimbrian, Mithridatic, and Parthian wars, 
as well as those of Gaul and Germany, (in which the glory 
of the Eomans ascended to heaven,) united the murders of 
the Gracchi and Drusus, the Servile War, and (that nothing 
might be wanting to their infamy) the war with the gladia- 
tors, were iron, blood-stained, and whatever more severe can 
be said of them. Turning at last upon themselves, the 
Eomans, as if in a spirit of madness, and fury, and impiety, 
tore themselves in pieces by the dissensions of Marius and 
Sylla, and afterwards by those of Pompey and Caesar. 

These occurrences, though they are all involved and con- 
fused, yet, that they may appear the more clearly, and that 
what is bad in them may not obscure what is good, shall be 
related separately and in order. And in the first place, as 
we have begun, we shall give an account of those just and 
honourable wars which they waged with foreign nations, that 
the daily increasing greatness of the empire may be made 
more manifest ; and we shall then revert to those direful 
proceedings, those dishonourable and unnatural contests, of 
the Eomans among themselves. 

CHAP. XX. 

After Spain was subdued in the West, the Eoman people 
had peace in the East ; nor had they peace only, but, by un- 
wonted and unexampled good fortune, wealth left them by 
bequests from kings, and indeed whole kingdoms at once, fell 
into their possession. Attalus, king of Pergamus, son of 
king Eumenes, who had formerly been our ally and fellow- 
soldier, left a will 1 to the following effect : " Let the Eoman 
people be heir to my property." Of the king's property the 
kingdom was a portion. The Eomans accordingly entering 
on the inheritance, became possessors of the province, not 
by war and arms, but, what is more satisfactory, by testa- 
mentary right. 

But as to what followed, it is hard to say whether the 
Eomans lost or recovered this province with the greater 

1 Attalus— left a will] See note on the Letter of Mithridates, Fragments of 
Sallust's History, p. 242. 



34 ^ thotbih l»4o ncona £*$mk 

autk of the royarl family i 
>ut mucli diffculty, 'part 
of the cities which had been subject to the kings 1 , and re- 
duced a few, which offered resistance, as Myndus^ ~ 



aiid Colophon, by ;f6tce : of -'arms:. r He then cut to pieces- the 
army of the pra^to^Crassus, and took Crassus himself pri- 
soner. But the Roman general, remembering the dignity of 
his family and the name of Some, struck out the eye. of the 
ferbarian, who had him mcustody r with a wand, and this'pro- 
yoked him, as he intended, to put him to death. Aristonicus, 
not long after, was-deffeateo. and, captured by Perperna, and, 
upan giving iip all claim to the kingdom, kept in connne- 
miiit. ( Aquilius then suppressed the . relies of the Asiatic 
war, by poisoning certain .-springs^ (a most . dishonourable 
proceeding,) in order to force some cities to a surrender. 
This act, though it hastened his' victory, rendered it infa- 
mous ;~ for, contrary to the laws of the gods and the practices 
of our ancestors, he' desecrated' the Soman arms^ which had 
tillthen been pure; and : inviolate, by the use of detestable 

mlSiX^ ^W^L odn<* <&mimtel£ \o mobgnii edi 

sdT .sdtannjT, tema-gs tbtt 10I hosboi lodions s^y eiiil 
-moo saw woflol o* bbw M^M^mi otf* snijoiflm to iaai 

lo idmb rwrfinrloY edi jfeooiift $a&i <obTb Trim eid tetqimoo 

This was the state- of tilings in- the east. But in the 
southern quarter ,$ime r was no such /toabqiuHijtoBO Who, 
after the destruction of Carthage, would have expected any 
war in Africa ? Yet Numidia roused herself with no small 
effort ; and in Jugurtha there was something to be dreaded 
after Hannibal. This subtle prince assailed the Eomans, 
when they were illustrious and invincible nn arms, by means 
of his wealth ; and it fortunately happened, beyond the ex- 
pectation of all, that a king eminent in artifice was ensnared 
by artifice. 

Jugurtha, the grandson of Masinissa, and son of Micipsa 
by adoption, having determined, from a desire of being sole 
king, to put his brothers to death, but having less feai* of them 
than of the senate and people of Eome, in whose faith aud 
protection the kingdom was placed, effected his first crime 

1 Subject to the kings] Eumenes and Attalus. 



Book III] EPITOME OLEOMAS" HISTOET. 349 

by treachery ; and haying got the laead of Hiempsal^ and 
then turned his efforts against Adherbal, he brought the 
senate over to his side/ (after Adherbal had fled to Borne,) 
by sending them money througli his ambassadors. This was 
his first victory over us. Having by similar means assailed 
certain commissioners, who were sent to divide the> kingdom 
between him and Adherbal, and having; overcome the very 
integrity of the Eoman empire 1 .in Scaurus^ he prosecuted 
with greater confi'derxce the wicked course which he had 
commenced. But dishonesty cannot long.be concealed ; the 
corrupt acts of Scaurus's; bribed commission came to light, 
and it was resolved by the Eomans to make war on the 
fratricide 2 . The consul Calpurnius Bestia was the first general 
sent to -Numidia ; but Jugurtha,, having found that gold was 
more efficient against the Eomans than iron, purchased peace 
of him. Being charged with this underhand dealing, and 
summoned, on the assurance of safe conduct, to appear before 
the senate, the prince, with equal boldness, both came to the 
city and procured the death of Massiva, his competitor for 
the kingdom of Masinissa, by the aid of a hired assassin. 
This was another reason for war against Jugurtha. The 
task of inflicting the vengeaiic£ that was to follow was com- 
mitted to Albinus; but Jugurtha (shameful to relate!) so 
corrupted his army also, that, through the voluntary flight of 
our men in ithe field, he gained a victory > and became master 
of pt*r camp ; and am * ignominious treaty, as the price of 
safety to the Eomans, being added to their previous dis- 
honour, he suffered the army, which he had before bought, to 
depart. gnrdismog ssiir sneiti Brftar^ut ni him : fa 

At this time, to support, not so much the Eoman empire 
as its honour, arose Metellus, who, with great subtlety, as- 
sailed the enemy with his own artifices ; an enemy who 
sought to delude him, sometimes with intreat-ies, sometimes 
with threats, sometimes with flight that was evidently pre- 
tended, and sometimes with McB as seemed-to be real 8 / But 

bH .norK]' 

1 Ch. I. The very integrity of the Roman empire] Ip4o$ Momani imperii 
mores. u Because Seanrus seemed .of all 
Fremshemius. See the note on Sal] " n 
' 2 Fratricide] Pccrricirfam; 'Seei 

3 Flight that was evidently pretended — such as seemed to be real] Jam simu- 
late jam quasi vercifirga. There is something corrupt in this passage : for, as 




850 floktts. [Book III, 

the Roman, not content with devastating the fields and vil- 
lages, made attempts on the principal cities of Numidia, and 
for a long time sought in vain to reduce Zama ; but Thala, 
a place stored with arms and the king's treasures, he suc- 
ceeded in capturing. Afterwards he pursued the prince 
himself, deprived of his cities, and forced to flee from his 
country and kingdom, through Mauretania and Gretulia. 
[Finally, Marius, having greatly augmented the army, (for, 
from the obscurity of his own birth, he enlisted numbers of 
the lowest class of people,) attacked the king when he was 
already defeated and disabled, but did not conquer him more 
easily than if he had engaged him in full and fresh vigour. 
The same general, also, with wonderful good fortune, re- 
duced Capsa, a city built by Hercules, lying in the middle 
of Africa, and defended by serpents and sandy deserts, and 
forced his way, by the aid of a certain Ligurian, into Mu- 
lucha, a city seated on a rocky eminence, the approach to it 
being steep and apparently inaccessible. Soon after he gave 
a signal overthrow, near the town of Cirta, not only to 
Jugurtha himself, but to Bocchus, the king of Mauretania, 
who, from ties of blood, had taken the part of the ]Numidian 
prince. But the Mauretanian, distrusting the condition of 
his own affairs, and apprehensive of being involved in an- 
other's ruin, offered to purchase, by the surrender of Jugur- 
tha, a treaty and alliance with Rome. That most treacherous 
of princes, accordingly, was ensnared by the treachery of his 
own father-in-law, and delivered into the hands of Sylla, and 
the people of Rome at last beheld Jugurtha loaded with 
chains and led in triumph, while the king himself, conquered 
and captive, looked again on the city which he had vainly 
prophesied a was to be sold, and doomed to perish if it could 
but find a buyer." But if it had been to be sold 1 , it had a 
purchaser in him, and since he did not escape, it will appear 
certain that it is not destined to perish. 

Duker and Perizonius observe, there is no conceivable difference between quasi 
vera fuga and simulata fuga. The manuscripts vary a little, but afford no 
help. 

1 But if it had been to be sold] Jam ut venalis fuisset. Madame Dacier pro- 
prosed nam ut. Some editions have tamen ut. 



Book III.] EPITOME OF EOMA^ HISTORY. 351 

CHAP. II. THE WAR WITH THE ALLOBEOGES. 

Thus did tlie Romans succeed in the south. In the north 
there were much more sanguinary proceedings, and in a 
greater number of places at once. Nothing is more in- 
clement than those regions. The air is severe, and the tem- 
pers of the inhabitants similar to it. From all this tract, on 
the right and the left, and in the midst of the northern 
quarter, burst forth savage enemies. The Salyi were the first 
people beyond the Alps that felt our arms, in consequence 
of Marseilles, a most faithful and friendly city, having com- 
plained of their inroads. The Allobroges and Arverni were 
the next, as similar complaints from the iEdui called for 
our assistance and protection against them. The river 
Varus is a witness of our victories, as well as the Isara and 
Vindelicus, and the Rhone, the swiftest of all rivers. The 
greatest terror to the barbarians were the elephants, which 
matched the fierceness of those people. In the triumph 
there was nothing so conspicuous as king Bituitus, in his 
variegated arms and silver chariot, just as he had fought. 
How great the joy was for both victories, may be judged 
from the fact that both Domitius iEnobarbus, and Eabius 
Maximus, erected towers of stone upon the places where 
they had fought, and fixed upon them trophies adorned with 
the arms of the enemy : a practice not usual with us, for the 
Roman people never upbraided their conquered enemies with 
their victories over them. 

CHAP. III. THE WAES WITH THE COIBEI, TEUTO^ES, AND 
TIGUREST. 

The Cirnbri, Teutones, and Tigurini, fleeing from the ex- 
treme parts of Gaul 1 , because the Ocean had inundated their 
country, proceeded to seek new settlements throughout the 
world ; and being shut out from Gaul and Spain, and wheel- 

1 Ch. III. From the extreme parts of Gaul] Ah extremis Gallice. As Gallia 
occurs again, a few lines below, it is apparent that there is something wrong in 
the passage. Cluverius, Germ. Antiq., i., 10, h\, 4, iii., 22, suggests that we 
should read Germanics. Graevius and Duker say that the most ancient inhabi- 
tants of Gaul were Germans, and that therefore Florus may reasonably have 
used Gallia as synonymous with Germania. I have little doubt, however, that 
Cluverius is right ; for Florus was too careful of his language to make so inelegant 
a repetition as exclusi Gallia after ah extremis Gallice prof ugi. 



^ .YstoTaiB i-LORTis. [Book III. 

ing about 1 towards Italy, they sent deputies to the camp of 
Silanus, and from thence to the senate, requesting that " the 
people of Mars 2 would allot them some land as a stipend, and 
use their hands and arms for whatever purpose they pleased." 
But what lands could the people of Rome give them, when 
they were ready to fight among themselves about the agra- 
rian laws ? rinding their application, therefore, unsuc- 
cessful, they resolved to obtain by force what they could not 
get by intreaty. Silanus could not withstand the first attack 
of the barbarians, nor Manlius the second, nor Csepio the 
third. All the three commanders were routed, and driven 
from their camps. Some would have been destroyed, had 
not Marius happened to live in that age. Even he did not 
dare to engage them at once, but kept his soldiers in their 
camp, until the impetuous rage and fury, which the barba- 
rians have instead of valour, should subside. The savages, in 
consequence, set off for Borne, insulting our men, and (such 
was their confidence of taking the city) asking them whether 
they had any messages to send to their wives. With not less 
expedition than they had threatened, they marched in three 
bodies over the Alps, the barriers of Italy. But Marius, 
exerting extraordinary speed, and taking a shorter route, 
quickly outstripped the enemy. Assailing first the Teu- 
tones, at the very foot of the Alps, in a place which they 
call Aquce Seoetice, in how signal a battle (O heavenly powers !) 
did he overthrow them ! The enemy possessed themselves of 
a valley, and a river running through the midst of it, while 
our men wanted water; but whether Marius allowed this to 
happen designedly, or turned an error to his advantage, is 
doubtful; certain it is, however, that the courage of the 
Bomans, stimulated by necessity, was the cause of their 
victory. Eor when the troops clamoured for water, " You 
are men," he replied; "yonder you have it" Such, in con- 
sequence, was the spirit with which they fought, and such 
the slaughter of the enemy, that the Bomans drank from the 
ensanguined stream not more water than blood of the bar- 

i Wheeling about] Quum—regyrarent The latter word is a conjecture of 
Salmasius, approved by Grasvius. Duker retains the common reading remi- 
grareni, which is manifestly corrupt. 

2 The people of Mars] Martins populus. They intimated that one warlike 
people ought to oblige another warlike people. 



, 



Book III.] EPITOME OftfjgftfgN HISTOBT. 3gg£ 

barians. Their king r himself, TeutobocKuSy who was accus- 
tomed to vault oyer four or six horses at once, could scarcely 
mount one- when ho fled, and being taken prisoner in the 
neighboiu-ing forest, was a remarkable object in the triumph^ 
for, being a man of extraordinary stature, he towered above 
the trophies themselves, [j gnom.6 td-oft oi vbrm -v 

The TeutoneS; being utterly cut off,;MtoJiiB directed Mk 
efforts against the Gimbri. This people had ip.ade a descent, 
even (who would believe it ?) in the time of winter^ which 
raises the Alps 1 still higher than ordinary, rolling 7 forward, 
like a falling mass of roek^jfrom the Tridentine heights into 
Italy as f ar .as the Aclige. Attempting the. ■ passage of the 
river, not by the aid, of a bridge or of boats, but, with the 
stupidity of savages, trying to stem, it with their bodies, a^d: 
making vain efforts to stop its current with their hands and 
shields, they at last blocked it up with a mass of trees thrown 
into . it, and so got across. And had they; immediately 
marched for Home in a body, and eager for battle, the 
danger to the city would have been great ; but delaying in 
the parts about Venice, where .the .climate of Italy is most 
luxurious, their vigour was diminished by the very mildness 
of the country and atmosphere. "When they had been 
further relaxed by the use of bread, cooked flesh, and 
pleasant wines, Marius opportunely came up with them. They 
requested our general to fix upon a day for battle, and he ap- 
pointed the next. They engaged in an open plain, which they 
call the Eaudian field. There fell on the side of the enemy to 
the number of sixty thousand; on ours fewer tha^ .three 
hundred. The barbarians were slaughtered during an entire 
day. Marius had also assisted valour bj artifice, in imitation 
of Hannibal and his stratagem at Cannge. In the first place, 
he had fixed on a foggy day 3 , so that he could charge the 
enemy before they were aware of his approach ; and, as it 

1 Raises the Alps] Quoe altiiis Alpes levat. " This is very true," says Grse- 
vius, " for snow is spread over snow, and is turned, they say, into stone." See.c. 
10, hyeme creverant Alpes. 

2 He had fixed on a foggy day] Nebulosum diem. To attribute these stra- 
tagems to Marius, in imitation of Hannibal, is absurd. Marius was asked to fix 
a day for battle, and chose the next, without knowing whether it would be foggy 
or clear. The fog, too, as Floras says, was so dense that the Gauls could not see 
the Romans approaching ; yet he states that there was sunshine reflected from 
the Roman helmets, and making the heaven seem in a blaze. 

2a 



354 flobtts. [Book III. 

was windy also, he manoeuvred so that the dust was driven 
into the eyes and faces of the enemy ; while, in addition, he 
had arranged his troops to face the east, so that, as was 
afterwards learned from the prisoners, the heaven seemed to 
be on fire from the glittering of the Eoman helmets and the 
reflection of the sun's rays from them. But the struggle 
with the enemies' wives was not less severe than that with 
themselves ; for the women, heing mounted on the waggons 
and other carriages, which had been ranged around as a 
defence, fought from them, as from towers, with spears and 
pikes. The death of these savages was as glorious as their 
contest for victory ; for when, upon sending an embassy to 
Marius, they failed to obtain their liberty, and sacerdotal 
protection 1 , which it was not lawful to grant, they either 
fell, after strangling or braining the whole of their children, 
by mutual wounds, or hanged themselves, with ropes made 
of their own hair, upon trees and the yokes of their waggons. 
Their king Bojorix fell in the battle, fighting furiously, and 
not without avenging himself. 

The third body, the Tigurini, which, as if for a reserve, 
had taken post on the Noric heights of the Alps, dispersing 
in different ways, and betaking themselves to ignoble flight 
or depredations, at last quite disappeared. This joyful and 
happy news, of the deliverance of Italy and the securing of 
the empire, the people of Eome received, not, as is usual, 
by the mouths of men, but, if we may believe it, by the 
intervention of the gods themselves. Por the very same 
day on which the contest was decided, two young men, 
crowned with laurel, were seen, in front of the temple of 
Castor and Pollux, to deliver a letter to the prsotor ; and a 
general rumour prevailed in the theatre of a victory over the 
Cimbri 2 , attended with the expression, " May it be happy for 

1 Sacerdotal protection] Sacerdotium. " They did not desire, as Madame 
Dacier supposes, to institute any sacerdotal body, either peculiar to themselves, 
or in common with any other priests, but merely requested to be committed to 
the custody of the Vestal virgins. Ordrunt tit — virginibus Vestalibus dono mii- 
terentur, affirmantes ceqiie se, atque illas, virilis concubitus expertes futuras, 
Val. Max., vi., 1, fin." Duker. 

2 Of a victory over the Cimbri, cf*c] Frequensque in spectactdo rumor 
Victorias Cimbrica? Feliciter, dixit Thus stands the passage in Duker's text, and, 
I believe, in all others, as if Victoria were a dative depending on feliciter, and 
the sense were, u Good fortune for the victory over the Cimbri. 1 ' In this sense 



Book III.] EPITOME OF EOMAK HISTOEY. 355 

us." What could "be more wonderful, what more extraor- 
dinary, than this ? For as if Rome, raised on her own hills, 
had taken a view of the battle, the people were clapping 
their hands in the city, as is the case at a show of gladiators, 
at the very moment when the Cimbri were falling in the 
field. 

CHAP. IT. THE THRACIAST WAR. 

After the Macedonians were subdued, the Thracians, 
please the gods 1 , rebelled ; a people who had themselves been 
tributary to the Macedonians, and who, not satisfied with 
making inroads into the neighbouring provinces of Thessaly 
and Dalmatia, advanced as far as the Adriatic. Being con- 
tent with this as a boundary, nature apparently stopping 
their progress, they hurled their weapons into the waves. 
ISTo cruelty, however, during the whole course of their march, 
had been left unexercised by their fury upon such as they 
took prisoners ; they offered human blood to the gods ; they 
drank from men's skulls ; they made death, from fire and 
sword 2 , more ignominious by every kind of insult ; and they 
even forced by tortures 3 infants from their mothers' wombs. 

Of all the Thracians the most savage were the Scordisci ; 
and to their strength was added cunning. Their situation 

Gruter and Freinshemius expressly say that the words are to be taken, and 
adduce a passage or two from Suetonius in which feliciter is joined with a dative. 
But these datives in Suetonius are, as Duker observes in his note, datives of the 
person ; and both he and Scheffer doubt whether a dative of the thing, such as 
victoria?, can properly be used with feliciter. Duker therefore proposes to take 
victorice Cimbricce as a genitive with rumor, and to let feliciter stand by itself, as 
in Phaed., v., 1, 4 : Feliciter, subclamant. In this sense I have given the passage 
in the translation. 

1 Ch. IV. Please the gods] Si diis placet. A contemptuous expression, 
similar to our phrase God wot, as " Peter, God wot, thought to do it." 

2 Death, from fire and sword] Mortem tain igni quain fumo is the common 
reading. I have adopted Wasse's conjecture, ferro. Duker, indeed, endeavours 
to support fumo by references to Cicero, Verr., i., 17, where a man is described 
as tortured by fumigation, and to Vulcat. Gall., iv., with the notes of Casaubon 
and Salmasius. But there would be no need to say that the Thracians added 
insidt to death by smoke, a death sufficiently insulting in itself. 

3 Forced by tortures, tfc.~\ Extorquere tormentis. u Tormenta accipio funes 
circa ventrem tensos et ligatos. Tormento tensior, Priap. Carrn., v. Vide ibi 
Scalig. Colv. et Scip. Gentil. ad Apul. Apol. non longe a princ. Quanquam etiam 
aliis modis compresso ventre partus extorqueri potest." Duker, 

2a2 



§88 .rao florusio emotim [J&ok III. 

among woods, and mountains agreed "with their teifiper, , . Ai} 
army, accordingly, which Cato commanded, was not only 
routed or put to flight; by them, but, what resembled ..$ 
prodigy, entirely cut off. Didius, however, drove them back, 
as they were . straggling and dispersed in unrestrained de- 
viation of the country, into their own Thrace. Drusus 
repelled ) them further, and hindered them from crossing the 
Danube. .-. Minucius made havoc of them -all along the banks 
ofithe Hebrus, though he lost many of his men when the 
river, which: deceived them with its ice, was attempted by 
hisHcavalry. Piso passed over Bhodope and Caucasus. , Curiq 
wenjt^s far as Dacia, but was afraid to penetrate the dark^ 
ness -of its forests. Appius advanced to the, Sarmatians, 
LuouUus to the Tanais, the boundary of those nations, and 
to the lakeMaeotis. ^Nor were these most savage of enemies 
subdued by any other treatment than such as they exercised 
on others; for cruelties, by fire and sword were inflicted on 
all that were taken prisoners. But nothing seemed more 
horrid to these barbarians than that they should be left 
with their hands cut off, and be obliged to "live and surviv@ 
^iriSUifergmg^ smoK 'to ph sift bm ylaJl L'rtosTto n 

CHAP. V. THE MITHBIDATIC WAE. 

mi ID V- V r 4. 4.1 % 14-1 4.1 

The Pontic- nations lie to the north, along the. sea on the 
left 1 , and have their name from the Pontus. Of these people 
and countries the most ancient king was iEetes. After him. 
reigned Artabazes, who was sprung from one of the seven 
Persians. Then came Mithridates, the mightiest of all 
kings ; for though four years were sufficient to defeat Pyrr- 
hus, and seventeen to conquer Hannibal, this monarch held 
out for forty years, till, being subdued in three great wars, 
he was, by the good fortune of Sylla, the bravery of Lucullus, 
and the greatness of Pompey, entirely brought to nothing. 

As a pretext for war, he alleged to Cassius, our ambas- 
sador, that "his borders were wasted by Nicomedes, king of 
Bithynia." Moved, however, by a spirit of ambition, he 
burned with a desire to grasp all Asia, and, if he could, all 
Europe. Our vices gave him hope and confidence ; for while 
we were distracted by civil wars, the opportunity of attacking 

* Ch. V. Along the sea 6n the left] In mare shmtrum. The Pontus Euxinns. 
which lies on the left of those sailing from Italy into Asia Minor, 






Book'Ilf.] EPITOME Or EOMAN HISTOEY. 857 

us tempted him ; and Mariiis, Sylla, and Sertorius showed 
him from a distance that the side of the empire was exposed, 
In the midst, therefore, of these -sufferings and disturbances 
of the commonwealth, the tempest of the Pontic war, as if 
seizing its opportunity, suddenly descended, as from the ex- 
treme heights of the north, upon a people wearied and pre- 
occupied. Its first irruption at once snatched Bithynia 
from us. Asia was next seized with similar terror, and our 
cities and people without delay revolted to the king. He 
himself was active and urgent, and exercised cruelty as if he 
thought 'it a virtue. Tor what could be more atrocious than 
one of his edicts, ordering all citizens of Borne that were in 
Asia to be put to death ? Then, indeed, homes, temples, and 
altars, and all obligations, human and divine, were violated. 
This terror in Asia opened to the king also a passage into 
Europe. Accordingly, Arch elans and JSeoptolemus, two or 
his generals, being despatched thither, the Cyclades, Delos, 
Eubcea, {and all the islands except Ehodes, which adhered to 
us more firmly than ever,) with Athens, the very glory of 
Greece, were seized by his troops. The dread of the king 
even affected Italy and the city of Rome itself. Lucius 
Sylla, therefore, a man excellent in war, hastened to oppose 
him, and repelled, as with a push of the hand, the enemy 
who was advancing with equal impetuosity. Athens, a city 
which was the mother of corn, he first compelled, by siege 
and famine, to eat (who would believe it ?) the flesh of 
human beings ; and then, having undermined the harbour of 
the l4ra?eus, with its six walls and more 1 , and having reduced 
tlie most uncrrateful of men 2 , as he himself called them, he vet 

1 With its six walls and more] Sex quoque et amplius muris. " What six 
walls were those," says Grawius, " that were overthrown by Sylla ? From the 
records of antiquity it does not appear that the Piraeus had any other than the 
two long walls." He therefore conjectures that these six walls must have been 
merely walls erected for the occasion, one behind the other, as successive defences 
against the besiegers ; a conjecture which he supports by a reference to Appian's 
account of the siege. Duker agrees with Gra3vins. Bede, indeed, on the Acts 
of the Apostles, and Orosius, vi.,-2, speak of the Piraeus as being fortified with 
a sevenfold wall, (septemiAici muro,) but they seem merely to have been misled 
by this passage of Floras. 

2 Most ungrateful of men] Ingratlssimos Iwminum. As having banished or 
ill-treated most of their benefactors, and great men, Theseus, Solon, Miltiades, 
Cimon, Demosthenes, cfc. 



FLOKTTS. [Book III. 

spared them for the honour of their deceased ancestors, and 
for the sake of their religion and fame. Having next driven 
the king's garrisons from Euboea and Boeotia, he dispersed 
the whole of his forces in one battle at Chseronea, and in a 
second at Orchomenns ; and shortly after, crossing over into 
Asia, he overthrew the monarch himself, when the war would 
have been brought to a conclusion, had he not been desirous 
to triumph over Mithridates rather speedily than com- 
pletely 1 . 

The following, however, was the condition in which Sylla 
placed Asia. A treaty was made with the people of Pontus. 
He recovered Bithynia for 2 king JSTicomedes, and Cappadoeia 
for Ariobarzanes. Asia thus became ours again, as it had 
begun to be. But Mithridates was only repulsed. This 
state of things, accordingly, did not humble the people of 
Pontus, but incensed them. For the king, being caught, as 
it were, with the hope of possessing Asia and Europe 3 , now 
sought to recover both by right of war, not as belonging to 
others, but because he had before lost them. 

As fires, therefore, which have not been completely extin- 
guished, burst forth into greater flames, so Mithridates, with 
an increased number of forces, and indeed with the whole 
strength of his kingdom, descended again upon Asia, by sea, 
by land, and along the rivers. Cyzicus, a noble city, adorns 
the shore of Asia with its citadel, walls, harbour, and towers. 
This citv, as if it had been another Borne, he assailed with 

1 Bather speedily than completely] Cito quam vere. " Floras has here fallen 
into an error, for Sylla did not triumph over Mithridates till some years after- 
wards, at the conclusion of the civil war. Nor did he make peace with 
Mithridates from desire of a triumph, but that he might be at liberty to turn his 
arms against the faction of Marius, which was then domineering in Italy." 
Duker. 

2 He recovered Bithynia for, <J-c] In all the editions the passage stands thus: 
Recepit Bithyniam a rege Nicomede, ab Ariobarzane Cappadociam. This, as 
all the commentators observe, is evidently corrupt. I have followed the emenda- 
tion proposed by Salmasius: Recepit Bithyniam regi Nicomedi, Ariobarzani 
Cappadociam, Lipsius conjectured, Recipit Bithyniam a Rege Nicomedes, Ario- 
barzanes Cappadociam. 

3 Asia and Europe] Grasvius and Madame Dacier wished to expunge Europd 
from the text, but Duker desires to preserve it, as Mithridates, in the preceding 
part of the war, had had a view to a portion of Europe as well as to all Asia. 
But as alienam and raptam follow in the singular, the expunction seems 
justifiable. 






Book IIL] EPITOME OF BOMAN" HISTOBT. 359 

his whole warlike force ; but a messenger, who, (surprising 
to relate,) seated on a stuffed skin, and steering his course 
with his feet, had made his way through the middle of the 
enemy's ships, (appearing, to those who saw him from a dis- 
tance, to be some kind of sea-monster,) gave the citizens 
courage to make resistance, by assuring them that Lucullus 
was approaching. Soon after, distress reverting upon the 
king, and famine, from the long continuance of the siege, 
and pestilence, as a sequel to the famine, pressing grievously 
upon him, Lucullus surprised him as he was endeavouring 
to retreat, and slew so great a portion of his army, that the 
rivers Granieus and JEsapus were reddened with blood. 
The crafty king, well acquainted with Roman avarice, or- 
dered the baggage and money to be scattered about by his 
troops as they fled, as a means of retarding the course of the 
pursuers. 

Nor was his retreat by sea more fortunate than that by 
land; for a tempest, in the Pontus Euxinus, falling on a 
fleet of above a hundred ships, laden with warlike stores, 
shattered it with so miserable a havoc, that its fate pre- 
sented the appearance of the sequel to a sea-fight, as ii 
Lucullus, by some compact with the waves and storms, had 
delivered the king to the winds to conquer. 

The whole strength of his mighty kingdom was now greatly 
impaired ; but his spirit rose with his misfortunes. Turning, 
therefore, to the neighbouring nations, he involved in his 
destruction almost the whole of the east and north. The 
Iberians, Caspians, Albanians, and the people of both 
Greater and Lesser Armenia, were solicited to join him ; 
and Fortune, by every means in her power, sought glory, 
and name, and titles, for her favourite Pompey, who, seeing 
Asia excited with new commotions, and one king rising after 
another, thought that he ought not to delay till the strength 
of the nations should be united, but, having speedily made 
a bridge of boats, was the first of all before him 1 to pass the 

1 First of all before him] Omnium ante se primus. A mode of expres- 
sion common among the Greeks, as in Xen. Sympos., c. viii., 40: lepoirptTre- 
(rraros 8ok€Ls livac tcqv TrpoyeyevrjjjLevodv, u Yon seem the greatest ornament 
to the priesthood of all that were before yon." So Milton, Par. L., iv., 323: 
Adam, the goodliest man of men since born 
His sons, the fairest of her daughters Eve. 
Other examples might be found in abundance. 



.YJIOTSIH 7Bfi88ff%0 IMOTIia p^BMcEfflt 

Euphrates, and , QY^akyjig tlie king in the middled of Ar\- 
menia,- si^g^^n^^i^li \^^ f ^i^gG^f.forttiale!).]iri) < on^ 
battle. The engagement took place by night,, and the moon 
was Pompey's ally;, for haying, as if lighting on his side, 
stationed herself in the rear of the enemy, and in front of 
the Romans, the men of Pontus, by mistake, discharged their, 
weapons at their own long, shadows, taking them 1 for bodies 
of the enemy. In that night, indeed, Mithridates was utterly 
overcome; for he was able to do nothing- afterwards ; though 
he made all manner of efforts, like serpents, which, when theife 
head is crushed, threaten with their tails to the last. Haying 
fled from the enemy to the Colchians, he sought to alarm, by 
a sudden descent, the coasts of Sicily and our own Campania^ 
to form a communication between the Bosporus and Colchis 2 , 
then to hasten through Thrace, Macedonia, and Greece^ and 
so to make a sudden inroad into Italy. But this he only 
conceived ; for, being prevented from the execution of it by a 
revolt of his subjects, and by the treachery of his son Phar- 
naces, he at last ended by the sword the life which he had in 
vain attempted by poison. 

Pompey, meantime, in pursuit of the remains of the rebels' 
in Asia, was hurrving through divers nations and countries. 
Following the Armenians eastward, and capturing Artaxata, 
the metropolis of the kingdom, he allowed Tigranes, on offer- 
ing submission, to retain his throne. Then, steering his 
course by the stars, as in a voyage over the sea, towards the ' 
Scythian north, he overthrew the Colchians, gave quarter to 
Iberia, spared the Albanians, and, pitching his camp at the 
foot of Mount Caucasus, commanded Orodes, king of the 
Colchians, to remove down into the plains, and required 
also Arthoees, who ruled the Iberians, to give his children as 
hostages. Orodes, too, who sent him from his country of 
xbw & lo noiaxAaoD oil* 1o 

* Long shadows, taking them, cfc] Umbras suas quasi hosdwn . corpora, #c. 
N<fi,very likely. v-LijIskis would strike out -suas; but it occurs in all the 
. copies. 

2 To form a communication between the Bosporus and Colchis] Colchis terms 
jungtre Bosporon. "These words labour under no small obscurity. To me, 
however,' Floras seems to mean nothing more than that Mithridates wished, as 
Appian start es^ to attach to himself the natives lying between the Bosporus and 
Colchis, and,, with their aid, to transfer the war into Europe." Duker. Madame 
Dacier thought of explaining jUngere Bosporon by : "jurigere ripas Bbspori ponte 
ex navibus," but this would deprive Colchis terms of all meaning. 



3$bbk III.] epitome or ko&ak histoet. £%l 

Albania a golden couch and other presents, he amply re- 
warded. Afterwards, turning his army to the south, and 
passing Mount Libanus in Syria, and Damascus, he led the 
Eoman standards through the well-known groves of per- 
fumes, and the forests of frankincense and. balm. The 
Arabians, if he gave them any commission, were ready to 
execute it. The Jews made an effort to defend Jerusalem ; 
but this city he also entered, and saw the grand mystery of 
ak. impious nation laid open, as it were, under a golden sky 1 . 
And being chosen arbiter between two brothers, who were 
disputing about the throne, he gave sentence that Hvrcanus 
should be kiug, and cast Aristobulus, as he was unwilling to 
submit to his decision, iuto chains. Thus the Eoman people, 
under the leadership of Pompey, having traversed the whole 
of Asia where it is broadest, made that the middle province 
of their empire which they had previously accounted the last. 
For except the Parthians, who preferred coming to a treaty, 
and the Indians, who were as yet ignorant of us, all Asia, 
between theEed and Caspian Seas and the Ocean, was under. 
our jurisdiction, having been either conquered or overawed 
bv the arms of Poinpey. 

CHAP. VI. THE WAE AGAINST THE PIRATES. 

In the mean time, while the Eomans were engaged in 
different parts of the world, the Cdlicians had spread them- 
selves over the sea, and, by the obstruction of commerce, and 
the disruption of the bonds of human society, had made the 
seas as impassable by their piracies as they would have been 
rendered by a tempest. 

The state of Asia, disturbed by the wars of Mithridates, 
gave confidence to these desperate and audacious robbers, 
who, under covert of the confusion of a war raised by others, 
and the odium against a foreign prince, roved up and down 
without control. Even at first, under a leader named 

1 The grand mystery— under a golden sky] Illud grande impicz gentis arcanum 
patens, sub aureo uti c&lo. Tims stands the passage in Duker. Some editions 
haye sub aureo vitem cab, but vitem is a mere conjecture of Lipsius, from a 
passage in Josephus, Ant., siv., 3, where it is said that Aristobulns sent to Home, 
as a present to Pompey, a golden vine. This conjecture Salmasius, Grsevius, ; 
and Selden, unite in -condemning. Graevius himself proposed sub aureo nil veto, 



362 flortjs. [Book III. 

Isidorus, they did not confine themselves 1 to the neighbour- 
ing sea, but exercised their piracies between Crete and 
Cyrene, and between Achaia and the Malean Grulf, which, 
from the spoils that they took there, they named the G-olden 
Gulf. Publius Servilius was sent against them, who, though 
he worsted their light and nimble brigantmes 2 w T ith his heavy 
and well-appointed ships of war, did not obtain a victory 
without much bloodshed. He was not, however, content 
with driving them from the sea, but sacked their strongest 
towns, stored with spoil that they had been long in collecting, 
Phaselis, Olympos, and Isaurus, the very stronghold of 
Cilicia, whence, conscious that he had achieved a great ex- 
ploit, he assumed the name of Isauricus. 

Yet the pirates, though humbled by so many losses, could 
not, on that account, confine themselves to the land, but, like 
certain animals, which have a twofold nature for living either 
on land or in water, they became, upon the retreat of the 
enemy, impatient of remaining ashore, and sprung back again 
into the waters, extending their excursions, indeed, somewhat 
more widely than before. So that Pompey, who had been so for- 
tunate already, was considered a fit person to secure a victory 
over these depredators, and this was made an addition to his 
Mithridatic province 3 . Resolving, accordingly, to suppress, 
at once and for ever, a plague that had dispersed itself over the 
whole sea, he proceeded against it with extraordinary 4 mea- 

observing that Pompey entered the Sanctum Sanctorum, and saw in it nothing 
but empty space, covered with a veil embroidered with gold. 

1 Ch. VI. Did not confine themselves] Non contend. The non is not in 
Duker's text, but the necessity for it is shown in the notes both by him and 
Grasvius. The sea between Crete and Cyrene, and the Malean Gulf, could not be 
called proximum mare with reference to Cilicia. 

2 Brigantines] Myoparonas. A word compounded, according to Festus, of 
two words, myon, (as Scaliger reads,) and paron, both signifying vessels of some 
kind. Turnebus, Adversar., hi., 1, thinks that they had their name from the 
island Paros and the city Myus. Scaliger, on Festus, would derive the word from 
fids, sl mouse, and Paros, on the supposition that they were shaped something 
like the body of a mouse. 

3 Was made an addition to his Mithridatic province] Miihridaticod provincial 
facta accessio. " Floras is in error hi supposing that the war against the pirates 
was an addition or appendix to the Mithridatic war, for he was not sent against 
Mithridates till the war with the pirates was ended, as is clear from Cicero pro 
Leg. Manil., Plutarch, and Appian." Duker. 

4 Extraordinary] Divino. As 8ios and daifiovcos are used among the Greeks. 



Book III.] EPITOME OE EOMA^ HISTOKT. 

sures. As he had a large naval force, both of his own and our 
allies the Ehodians, he secured the entrances both of the Pon- 
tus and the Ocean 1 , with the aid of several captains and com- 
manders. GeUius was stationed in the Tuscan sea, Plotius 
in that of Sicily. Gratilius guarded the Ligurian bay, Pom- 
peius 2 the Gallic, Torquatus the Balearic ; Tiberius Nero had 
charge of the Strait of Gibraltar, where the entrance to our 
sea opens ; Lentulus watched the Libyan sea, Marcellinus 
the Egyptian, the young Pompeys the Adriatic, Terentius 
Varro the -ZEgean and Pontic, Metellus the Pamphylian, and 
Csepio the Asiatic ; while Porcius Cato locked up the mouth 
of the Propontis like a gate, with his ships drawn across it. 
Thus, whatever pirates were to be found in any harbour, bay, 
creek, recess, promontory, strait, or peninsula, were inclosed 
and secured, as it were, with a net. Pompey himself directed 
his efforts against Cilicia, the source and origin of the war. 
Nor did the enemy shrink from an engagement with him, 
not, indeed, from confidence in their strength, but, as they 
were hard pressed, they were willing to appear daring. But 
they did nothing more than meet the first onset, for imme- 
diately afterwards, when they saw the beaks of our ships 
encircling them, they threw down their weapons and oars, 
and, with a general clapping of hands, which was with them 
a sign of supplication, intreated for quarter. Never did we 
obtain a victory with so little bloodshed. Nor was any nation 
afterwards found so faithful to us ; a state of things which 
was secured by the remarkable prudence of the general, who 
removed this maritime people far from the sight of the sea, 
and tied them down, as it were, to the inland parts of the 
country. Thus, at the same time, he both recovered the 
free use of the sea for ships, and restored to the land its 
own men. 

In this triumph what shall we most admire ? Its expe- 
dition, as being gained in forty days ? Its good fortune, as 
not a single ship was lost ? Or its durable effect, as the 
Cilicians, in consequence of it, were never after pirates ? 

1 Entrances both of the Pontus and the Ocean] Utraque Ponti et Oceani ora. 
Both the Thracian Bosporus and the Fretum Gaditanum, or Strait of Gibraltar. 

2 Pompehis] Duker conjectures Pomponius, as in Appian. 



S©€ FLOHXJS. 

CHAP. Til, THE CRETAN WAE. 

The Cretan war,; if we would but admit the truth, we our- 
selves occasioned, solely from a desire of subduing that noble 
island. It was thought to have favoured Mithridates, and we 
resolved to take vengeance for this offence by force of arms. 
The first who invaded the island was Marcus Antonius ; and, 
indeed, with such vast hopes and confidence of success, that 
he carried in his vessels more chains than arms. He, however, 
paid the penalty of his rashness, for the enemy captured most 
of his ships, and the dead bodies of the prisoners were sus- 
pended from the sails and tackling. In this manner the 
Cretans, with their sails spread, rowed back in triumph to 
harbours. 

At a subsequent period, Metellus, after casting the whole 
island with fire and sword, drove the inhabitants to their 
fortresses and towns, and took Gnossus 1 , Erythrsea, and 
Cydonia, the r 'mother,' as the Greeks are wont to call it, of its 
cities'* ; and so cruel was his treatment of the prisoners, that 
most of them poisoned themselves, while others sent offers 
of surrender to Pompey, who was then at a distance. Pom- 
pey, though fully engaged in Asiatic affairs, nevertheless de- 
spatched Antonius as his deputy to Crete, and thus gained 
reputation from another man's province. But Metellus en- 
forced the rights of war on the enemy only the more unmer- 
cifully, and, after suppressing Lasthenes and Panares, cap- 
tains of Cydonia, returned home victorious ; yet from so 
remarkable a conquest he gained nothing more than the 



surname of Creticus. 

mauq 

- ■ -' < ■ 
CHAP. Till. THE BALEARIC WAR. 

1 

As the family of Metellus Macedonicus was accustomed 
to military surnames, it was not long, after one of Iris .sons 
became Creticus, till the other was called Balearicus,^. The 
Balearic Isles, at that time, had infested the seas with. piratic 
outrages. You would wonder that, a savage people, living 
in the woods, should venture even to look upon the sea 
from the top of their rocks. But they had courage- to go 

1 Ch. VII. Took Gnossus] It is necessary to supply, in the Latin text, cepit, 
or some such verb, which, as Duker observes, seems to have been lost. 

2 Mother of its c I ties . ] Urbium matrem . Its me tropolis . 



3$$qfejS56] EPITOME OR UQtem HISTORY. 36S 

on board some ill-made boats, and, from time to time, sur- 
prised vessels sailing by with unexpected attacks. Seeing 
also a Soman fleet approaching from the sea, and looking 
upon it as a prize, -they ventured to engage it, and, at the 
first onset, covered the ships with a vast shower of small 
and great stones. Every one of them fights with three 
slings ; and who can wonder that their execution with these 
instruments is very sure, when they are the only weapons of 
the nation, and the use of them is their only exercise from 
their infancy ? A child receives no food from his mother 
but what he has struck down with his sling at her bidding. 
But, they did not long frighten the Romans with their 
stones ; for. when they came to close combat, and felt the 
effects of our beaks, and the weapons that fell upon them, 
they set up a bellowing like oxen, and fled to the shore, 



CHAP. IX, THE EXPEDITION TO CYPHTJS. 

The fate of the islands was come ; and Cyprus, in conse- 
quence, was taken without a war. Of this island, which 
abounded in wealth from times of old, and was for this 
reason 1 sacred to Venus, Ptolemy was king ; but such was 
the fame of its riches, and not without cause, that a people 
who had conquered nations, and was accustomed to give 
away kingdoms, ordered, at the instigation of Publius 
Clodius the tribune, . that the king's property, though he. 
was their ally and still living, should be brought into the 
public treasury. Ptolemy, upon the news of this decree, 
hastened his death by poison. Porcius Cato, however, 
brought the wealth of Cyprus in Liburnian vessels 3 into the 
mouth of the Tiber, an event which replenished the treasury 

of Eome more largely than any triumph. 

. i °. * J .. L 

1 Ch. IX. For this reason] Ob hoc. " I see no ground for this assertion: it 
was rich, therefore sacred to Venus. It would surely rather have been sacred to 
Juno. To me, therefore, it appears that we should read, not ob hoc, on account 
of this, but ad hoc, in addition to this.*'' Freinshemius. This conjecture is 
approved both by Gragvius and Duker. 

2 Liburnian vessels] Liburnis. "Those vessels were now called Liburnian, 
which were previously termed triremes, quadriremes, cfc, as is shown by Scheffer, 
de Milit. Nav., ii., 2." Duker. Their name was from the Liburni, a people of 
Illyricum. The reader may consult the commentators on Hor. Epod., i., 1. 



366 tlobtts. [Book III. 

CHAP. X. THE GALLIC WAB. 

When Asia was subdued by the efforts of Pompey, For- 
tune conferred what remained to be done in Europe upon 
Caesar. There were still left the most savage of all nations, 
the Gauls and Germans ; and Britain, though separated 
from the whole world, had yet one to conquer it. The first 
commotion in Gaul arose from the Helvetii, who, lying be- 
tween the Rhone and the Rhine, and finding their country 
insufficient for them, came forth, after setting fire to their 
cities, (an act equivalent to an oath that they would not re- 
turn,) to ask of us new settlements. But Caesar, having 
asked for time to consider of their application, prevented 
them, meanwhile, from getting off, by breaking down the 
bridge over the Rhone, and straightway drove back this 
warlike nation to their former abodes, as a shepherd drives 
his flocks into the fold. The next affair was a war with the 
Belg83, which was attended with far more bloodshed, as 
being a struggle with men fighting for their liberty. In 
the course of it were displayed many brave acts among the 
soldiery, and a remarkable one of the general himself, who, 
when his troops were on the point of flight, having snatched 
a buckler from a retreating soldier, hurried to the front of 
the army, and restored the battle by his own exertions. 
Then followed a naval war with the Veneti, but there was a 
greater struggle in it with the Ocean than with the ships of 
the enemy ; for the vessels were rude and ill-shaped, and 
were shattered as soon as they felt our beaks ; but the con- 
test was obstructed by the shallows, as the Ocean, retiring 
by its usual ebbs during the engagement, seemed disposed 
to put a stop to the war. 

There were also other diversities of operation, according 
to the nature of the people and the ground. The Aquitani, 
a crafty nation, betook themselves to their caverns ; Caesar 
ordered them to be shut up in them. The Morini dispersed 
themselves among their woods ; he ordered the woods to be 
set on fire. 

Let no one say that the Gauls are mere senseless warriors ; 
for they act with cunning. Indutiomarus called together 
the Treviri, Ambiorix the Eburones ; and the two, in the 
absence of Caesar, having entered into a conspiracy, fell 



Book III.] EPITOME OE EOMA.K HISTORY. 367 

upon his lieutenant-generals. Indutiomarus was valiantly 
repulsed by Dolabella, and his head carried from the field. 
Anibiorix, however, placing an ambuscade in a valley, gave 
us by that contrivance a defeat, so that our camp was plun- 
dered, and our treasure carried off. Then we lost Cotta, 
and Titurius Sabinus, one of the legates. Nor was any re- 
venge afterwards taken on Ambiorix, as he lay in perpetual 
concealment beyond the Rhine. 

Yet the Ehine was not, on that account, left unassailed ; 
nor was it just that the receiver and protector of our enemies 
should escape. The first battle against the Grermans on its 
banks arose indeed from very just grounds ; for the iEdni 
made complaints of their inroads. And how great was the 
haughtiness of Ariovistus ! When our ambassadors said to 
him, " Come to Caesar," " And who is Caesar ?'" he retorted; 
" let him come to me, if he will. What is it to him what 
our Germany does ? Do I meddle with the Eomans ?" In 
consequence of this reply, so great was the dread of the un- 
known people in the Roman camp, that wills were publicly 
made even in the principled. But the greater the vast 
bodies of the enemy were, the more were they exposed to 
swords and other weapons. The ardour of the Eoman 
soldiers in the battle cannot be better shown than by the 
circumstance that when the barbarians, having raised 
their shields above their heads, protected themselves with 
a testudo 2 , the Eomans leaped upon their very buck- 
lers, and then came down upon their throats with their 
swords. 

The Tencteri were the next that made complaints of the 

1 Ch. X. Even in the principia~] Etiam in principiis. " He means either that 
the chief men of the army, military tribunes, prefects, and others, who were 
quartered in the principia, made their wills ; or that the common soldiers, seized 
with terror, betrayed their feelings by making their wills under the very eyes of 
the general and the other officers." Duker. " The lower part of the camp was 
separated from the upper by a broad open space, which extended the whole 
breadth of the camp, called principia, (Liv., vii., 12,) where the tribunal of the 
general was erected, where he either administered justice or harangued the army, 
Tacit. Annal. i., 67, Hist., hi., 13; where the tribunes held their courts, (jura 
reddebant,') Liv. xxviii., 24; and punishments were inflicted, Suet. Oth., c. 1, 
Aug., c. 24; where the principal standards of the army, and the altars of the 
gods stood, Tacit. Annal., i. 39." Adam's Rom. Ant., p. 343, 8vo. ed. 

2 With a testudo] Testudine. See Sail., Jug., c. 98. 



368 flortjs. [Book III. 

Germans. Caesar then, of his own impulse, crossed the 
Moselle 1 by a bridge of ships, and passed even the Rhine 
itself, to seek the enemy in the Hercynian forests. But 
the whole nation had fled away to their thickets and fens, 
so great alarm did the Roman force, suddenly appear- 
ing on that side of the river, excite in them. ISTor was the 
Rhine crossed by Caesar only once, but even a second time, 
when a bridge was built over it. The consternation of the 
barbarians grew then much greater, for when they saw 
their Rhine taken captive with a bridge, which seemed to 
them as a yoke laid upon it, they all fled a second time to 
their woods and marshes, and, what was most vexatious to 
Caesar, no enemies remained to be conquered. 

All, therefore, by land and sea 3 , being subdued, he cast 
his eyes upon the wide Ocean, and, as if the world which 
the Romans possessed was not sufficient for them, he medi- 
tated the conquest of another. Having accordingly equipped 
a fleet, he set sail for Britain. He crossed the water with 
extraordinary expedition, for, having started from a harbour 
of the Morini 3 at the third watch, he reached the island be- 
fore mid-day. The shores were crowded with a tumultuous 
assemblage of the enemy, and their chariots, as if in conster- 
nation at the sight of something strange, were hurrying 
backwards and forwards. Their trepidation was in conse- 
quence a victory to Caesar, who received arms and hostages 
from them while they were in alarm, and would have pro- 
ceeded further along their coasts, had not the Ocean punished 
his daring fleet with a wreck. He returned, therefore, for 
the present, into Gaul ; but, having augmented his fleet, 
and reinforced his army, he ventured again upon the same 
Ocean, and pursued the same Britains into the Caledonian 
forests, taking one of the Cavelian princes 4 prisoner. Con- 

1 The Moselle] Mosula. Generally written Mosella. 

2 All — by land and sea] Omnibus — terrd marique. By marl the people and 
places on the coast are meant. 

3 Harbour of the Morini] Morino portu. What harbour Florus means, is 
uncertain. The Morini were on the coast of the English channel, opposite Dover. 

4 One of the Cavelian princes] JJnum e regibus Cavelianis. None of the 
editors think this reading sound. " Freinshemius excellently conjectures unum e 
regibus Cassivelauni, or unum e regibus Cassivelaunum ; for though Ca3sar did 
not take Cassivelaunus himself, Florus may mean that he took some captain or 
petty prince of Cassivelaunus." Grcevius. 



Book III.] EPITOME OE KOMAtf HISTORY. 369 

tent with these exploits, (for his object was not to get a 
province, but a name,) he sailed back with greater booty 
than before, the Ocean itself being also more tranquil and 
propitious, as if it acknowledged itself to be under his 
power. 

But the greatest rising of all the G-auls, which was also 
the last, was when that prince, so formidable for his stature, 
martial skill, and courage, (his very name, Vercingetorix, 
being apparently intended to excite terror,) drew together 
all the Arverni and Bituriges, in conjunction with the Car- 
nutes and Sequani. This king, upon festivals and days of 
assembly, when he had the people collected in great numbers 
in the groves, roused them, by his high-spirited harangues, 
to recover their former liberty and rights. Caesar was at 
that time absent, levying troops at Ravenna, and the Alps 
had grown higher during the winter 1 , so that they thought 
his passage stopped. But he, (such was his happy temerity 
at the report of these proceedings,) forcing a way with a 
light-armed troop over tops of mountains previously impass- 
able, and over snows never before trodden, reached Graul, 
collected a force from the different winter-quarters, and 
secured a position in the midst of the country before he was 
apprehended to be on the borders of it. Proceeding then 
against the cities that took the chief part in the insurrec- 
tion, he overthrew Avaricum, with its garrison of forty 
thousand men, and burned to the ground Alexia, though 
relying upon a force of two hundred and fifty thousand. 
The whole stress of the war was at last collected about G-er- 
goviu, a city of the Arverni, which eighty thousand men 
defended with the aid of a wall, a citadel, and precipitous 
rocks. This great city he first weakened by famine, sur- 
rounding it with a rampart, palisades, a trench, (the river 
being let into the trench,) eighteen towers, and a high 
breastwork ; and afterwards, when the inhabitants ventured 
upon sallies, he slaughtered them from the ramparts with 
swords and pikes; and at last forced them to surrender. 
The king of the place himself, (the greatest ornament of the 
victory,) after having come as a suppliant to the Eoman 

1 The Alps had grown higher during the winter] Hyeme creverant Alpes. 
See note, c. o, on quae, altius Alpes leval. 

2b 



370 floetjs. [Book III. 

camp, and thrown his royal ensigns and arms at the feet of 
Csesar, exclaimed, " Receive them 1 : thou, O bravest of men, 
hast conquered a brave man." 

CHAP. XI. THE PARTHIAK WAB. 

Whilst the Komans, by the instrumentality of Caesar, 
were subduing the Gauls in the north, they received a 
grievous blow from the Parthians in the east. Nor could 
we complain of Fortune ; there was no consolation for the 
disaster. The avarice of the consul Crassus, who, in defi- 
ance of gods and men, was longing eagerly for Parthian 
gold, was punished with the destruction of eleven legions, 
and the loss of his own head. 

MeteRus, a tribune of the people, had cursed Crassus, as 
he was going out of Rome, with bitter execrations. After 
the army had passed Zeugma, the Euphrates swallowed up 
the standards which had been carried into it by a sudden 
whirlwind. "When he had pitched his camp at Nicephorium, 
ambassadors, sent to him by king Orodes, urged him " to 
remember the treaties made with Pompey and Sylla ;" to 
which the consul, whose heart was set upon the king's 
treasures, made, without even a pretext of justice, no other 
reply than that he would give his answer at Seleucia. The 
gods, therefore, the avengers of violated treaties, refused 
their assistance neither to the secret artifices, nor to the 
open valour, of our enemies. The first military error of 
Crassus was to desert the Euphrates, which alone could sup- 
ply him with provisions or secure his rear. He then trusted 
a Syrian named Mazaras, a counterfeit deserter, till, under 
his guidance, the army was led into the middle of »u open 
plain, and exposed to the enemy on every side. Scarcely, 
in consequence, had he reached Carrae 2 , when Sillaces and 
Surenas, the king's generals, displayed their standards 
waving with gold and silken banners. Immediately after- 
wards, the cavalry gathering around, showered upon the 
Romans their arrows as thick as hail or rain. The army 
was thus cut off with a direful slaughter. The consul, being 
invited to a conference, would, upon a given signal, have 

1 Receive them] Babe. Duker has Hales in the textv^t recommends in his 
note the imperative, which it can scarcely be doubted is the true reading. 

2 Ch. XI. Carrae] See i., 11. 



Book III.] EPITOME OE ROMAIC HISTOBY. 371 

fallen alive into the hands of the enemy, had not the Par- 
tisans, in consequence of resistance from the tribunes, has- 
tened to prevent his escape with their swords. Yet even 
thus his head was carried off, and made an object of derision 
to the enemy. His son, almost in the sight of his father, 
they cut off with the same weapons. The relics of the un- 
happy army, scattered wherever the hope of escape drove 
them, through Armenia, Cilicia, and Syria, scarcely brought 
home the news of the disaster. 

The head of Crassus, when cut off, together with his right 
hand, was carried to the king, and treated by the enemy, not 
unjustly, with mocking insult. Molten gold was poured 
into his mouth, that the flesh of him whose mind had burnt 
with desire of gold, might, when dead and inanimate, be 
burnt with gold itself. 

CHAP. XII. A RECAPITULATION. 

This is the third age of the Soman people, described with 
reference to its transactions beyond the sea ; an age in 
which, when they had once ventured beyond Italy, they car- 
ried their arms through the whole world. Of which age, the 
first hundred years were pure and pious, and, as I have called 
them, golden, free from vice and immorality, as there yet 
remained the sincere and harmless integrity of the pastoral 
life 1 , and the imminent dread of a Carthaginian enemy sup- 
ported the ancient discipline. The succeeding hundred, 
which we have reckoned from the destruction of Carthage, 
Corinth, and Numantia, and from the inheritance bequeathed 
us by king Attalus in Asia, to the times of Caesar and Pompey, 
and those of Augustus who succeeded them, and of whom we 
shall speak hereafter, were as lamentable and disgraceful for 
the domestic calamities, as they were honourable for the lustre 
of the warlike exploits that distinguished them. For, as it 
was glorious and praiseworthy to have acquired the rich and 
powerful provinces of Gaul, Thrace, Cilicia, and Cappadocia, 
as well as those of the Armenians and Britons, which, though 
of not much advantage, were great names to add to the 
splendour of the empire, so it was disgraceful and lamentable, 

1 Ch. XII. Of the pastoral life] Pastor ice sectce. " That secta is used for a 
way and manner of life, is well known." DuJcer. Sectam rationemque vitce, Cic. 
pro Csel., c. 17. 

2b2 



372 flortjs. [Book III. 

at the same time, to have fought at home with our own 
citizens, with our allies, our slaves, and gladiators, while the 
whole senate was divided into parties. And I know not 
whether it would not have been better for the Roman people 
to have been content with Sicily and Africa, or even to have 
been without them, while still enjoying the dominion of 
Italy, than to grow to such greatness as to be ruined by 
their own strength. For what else produced those intestine 
distractions but excessive good fortune ? It was the con- 
quest of Syria that first corrupted us ; and the succession 
afterwards, in Asia, to the estate of the king of Pergamus. 
Such wealth and riches ruined the manners of the age, and 
overwhelmed the republic, which was sunk in its own vices as 
in a common sewer. lor how did it happen that the Eoman 
people demanded from their tribunes lands and subsistence, 
unless through the scarcity, which they had by their luxury 
produced ? Hence there arose the first and second sedition of 
the Gracchi, and a third, that of Apuleius 1 . From what 
cause did the equestrian order, being divided from the senate, 
domineer by virtue of the judiciary laws, if it was not from 
avarice, in order that the revenues of the state, and trials of 
causes, might be made a means of gain ? Hence again it 
was that the privilege of citizenship w r as promised to the 
Latins, and hence were the arms of our allies raised against 
us. And what shall we say as to the wars with the slaves ? 
How did they come upon us, but from the excessive number 
of slaves ? "Whence arose such armies of gladiators against 
their masters, if it was not that a profuse liberality, by 
granting shows to gain the favour of the populace, made 
that an art which was once but a punishment of enemies ? 
And to touch upon more specious vices, did not the ambition 
for honours take its rise from the same excess of riches ? 
Hence also proceeded the outrages of Marius, hence those 
of Sylla. The extravagant sumptuousness of banquets, too, 
and profuse largesses, were not they the effects of wealth, 
which must in time lead to want ? This also stirred up 
Catiline against his country. Finally, whence did that in- 
satiable desire of power and rule proceed, but from a super- 
abundance of riches ? This it was that armed Caesar and 
Pompey with fatal weapons for the destruction of the state. 

1 That of Aptdeius] See c, 16. 



Book III.] EPITOME OF EOMA^ T HISTOET. 373 

Of all these domestic distractions of the Eoman people, 
distinct from their foreign and justifiable wars, we shall give 
an account in their proper order. 

CHAP. XIII. THE SEDITIOUS 2sATTTBE OF THE TKIBTJNITIAL 
POWEB. 

The Tribunitial Power furnished occasions for all kinds of 
seditions ; a power which, under pretence of maintaining the 
rights of the common people, (for whose protection it was 
established,) but in reality to acquire authority for itself, 
courted the favour of the populace by proposing laws respect- 
ing the division of lands, the distribution of corn, and the 
disposal of judicial proceedings. In all these laws there was 
indeed a colour of equity. For what was more just, than 
that the commons should have their full rights from the 
senate, that a people who had conquered all other nations, 
and was master of the world, might not live without altars 
and hearths of their own ? What was more equitable, than 
that the poorer class of people should be maintained from 
the public treasury of their country ? "What was more con- 
ducive to the security of equal liberty, than that, while the 
senate settled the provinces, the authority of the equestrian 
order should be supported by judicial privileges 1 ? Yet these 
very objects led to harm, and the unhappy state became a 
prize for its own overthrow. Por the transference of the 
judicial power from the senate to the knights, caused pecu- 
lation with regard to taxes 2 , the patrimony of the govern- 
ment; while the purchase of corn exhausted the treasury, 
the nerves of the commonwealth.* And how could the 
common people be put in possession of lands, but by the 
ejection of those that already occupied them, who were them- 

1 Ch. XIII. By judicial privileges] Judiciorum regno. The law respecting 
the choice of judices was several times altered. At first they were chosen only 
from the senators ; afterwards, by a law of Caius Gracchus, only from the equites ; 
next, by a law of Caspio, from both orders ; and various changes succeeded. See 
Adam's Bom. Antiq., p. 236, 8vo. ed. 

2 Caused peculation with regard to taxes] Vectlgalia supprimebat. " It was 
easy for the equites, (many of whom were farmers of the revenues,) when 
they were granted by the law of Gracchus the privilege of being judices, to favour 
those of their own class on trials, and thus to allow of much malappropriation of 
the public money." Stadius. " Suppressa vectlgalia are intercepta et in privates 
usus conversa. ' Supprimere pecuniam' for to convert to one's own use occurs 
in Cic. pro Cluent., c. 25, 36." Duker. 



374 elorus. [Book III. 

selves a part of the people, and who moreover held their 
estates, as bequeathed to them from their forefathers,, by 
prescription of time and right of inheritance ? 

CHAP. XIV. THE SEDITION OF TIBERIUS GRACCHUS. 

Tiberius Gracchus kindled the first flame of contention, a 
man who was unquestionably the first in Borne for family, 
person, and eloquence. But he, whether dreading to be 
involved in the odium of Mancinus's surrender 1 , (as he had 
been one of the sureties for the performance of that treaty,) 
and joining in consequence the popular party, or moved by 
a regard to equity and justice, and taking pity on the com- 
mons, in order that a people who had conquered 2 all other 
nations, and was master of the world, might not continue 
exiles from their own altars and hearths, or from whatever 
motive he acted, entered upon a great political measure, and, 
when the day for propounding the bill for it was come, 
ascended the Rostra attended with a vast train of followers ; 
nor did the nobility, on the other side, fail to meet him with 
a body of opponents, among whom were the rest of the 
tribunes. But when Gracchus observed Cnaeus Octavius 
opposing his laws, he laid hands upon him, in violation of 
the rights of the tribunitial body and the privilege of their 
office, and thrust him from the Eostra ; and, besides, put him 
so much in fear of instant death, that he was obliged to lay 
down his oifice. Gracchus was in consequence made one of 
three commissioners for the division of the lands. But 
when, to complete his objects, he requested, at the comitia, 
that his term of oifice might be prolonged, and a party of 
the nobility, and of those whom he had expelled from their 
lands, rose up against him, a sanguinary conflict ensued in 
the forum. Having, upon this, fled to the Capitol, and 
exhorting the people to save his life, touching his head, at 
the same time, with his hand, he excited the idea that he was 
asking for royalty and a diadem. The people, therefore, at 
the instigation of Scipio JNTasica, being roused to take up 
arms, he was, with apparent justice, put to death. 

1 Ch. XIV. Mancinus's surrender] Mancinianm deditionis. See ii., 18. 

2 A people who had conquered, cfc] The same words occur in the preceding 
chapter. Probably, as Duker observes, they ought to be omitted in one of the 



Book III.] EPITOME OF SOMAN HISTOBY. 375 

CHAP. XT. THE SEDITION OF CAITTS GRACCHUS. 

Shortly after, Cams Gracchus was animated with equal 
ardour to become the avenger of his brother's death and the 
maintainer of his laws. Endeavouring, accordingly, with 
similar tumult and terror, to reinstate the people in their 
forefathers' lands, promising them the late bequest of At- 
tains for their support, and becoming elated and influential 
by means of a second tribuneship, he pursued for a time, 
with the support of the common people, an apparently suc- 
cessful course ; but when Minucius, another of the tribunes, 
ventured to oppose his laws, he had the boldness, relying on 
the aid of partisans, to take possession of the Capitol so 
fatal to his family. Being driven thence, with a great 
slaughter among his party, he sought refuge on Mount 
Aventine, where, a number of the senators assailing him, he 
was cut off by the consul Opimius. Insult was also offered 
to his dead body ; and the sacred head of a tribune of the 
people was paid for to his assassins with its weight in gold. 

CHAP. XYI. THE SEDITION OE APT7LEIT7S. 

Apuleius Saturninus, however, still persisted to promote 
the laws of the Gracchi, so much was he encouraged by 
Marius, who, being always an enemy to the nobility, and 
presuming, moreover, on his consulship, endeavoured, after 
killing openly, at the comitia, Annius his competitor 1 for the 
tribunate, to introduce in his stead one Caius Gracchus, a 
man without tribe or name, but who, by a forged pedigree, 
had represented himself as one of the family of the Gracchi. 

Apuleius, exulting with impunity amidst so many and 
so great outrages, applied himself, with such determina- 
tion, to pass the laws of the Gracchi, that he even prevailed 
upon the senate to take an oath to promote his object, 
threatening such as hesitated that he would procure their 
exile 2 . Yet there was one who chose exile rather than to 

1 Ch. XYI. His competitor] The competitor of Apuleius. Valerius Maxiraus, 
ix., 7, 3, says that he was killed by the people, but calls him Aulus Numius. 
The manuscripts of Floras vary as to the name. 

2 That he would procure their exile] Aqua et igni inter dicturum. " That he 
would interdict from fire and water," the common form of words used in the 
sentence of banishment. 



376 flobus. [Book III. 

take the oath. After the banishment of Metellus, therefore, 
when the nobility were greatly dispirited, and when he was 
domineering in his third year, he proceeded to- such a height 
of audacity, that he even disturbed the consular comitia with 
a new murder. In order to make Glaucias, an abettor of his 
insanity, consul, he ordered his rival Cains Memmius to be 
slain, and, in the midst of the consequent tumult, joyfully 
heard himself called king by his followers. Eut the senate 
afterwards combining against him, and Marius, as he was no 
longer able to support him, becoming his opponent, a pitched 
battle was fought in the forum, and, being driven from the 
field, he took refuge in the Capitol. Being, however, besieged, 
and deprived of water, and producing in the minds of the 
senators, by the representations of his deputies, a belief that 
he repented of what he had done, he was allowed to come 
down from the Capitol, and was received, with the leaders of 
his party, into the senate-house, when the people, bursting 
into the building, overwhelmed him with sticks and stones, 
and tore him to pieces before he was dead. 

CHAP. XYII. THE SEDITION OF DETJSUS. 

I 

Last of all, Livius Drusus, depending not only on the in- 
fluence of the tribuneship, but on the authority of the senate, 
and the consent of all Italy, endeavoured to promote the same 
laws, and, by attempting one thing after another, excited so 
violent a combustion in the state, that not even the first flash 
of it could be endured ; and, being cut off by a sudden death, 
he left a war as an inheritance to his posterity. The 
Gracchi, by their law respecting the judicial power, had 
divided the Roman people into two parties, and made of one 
nation a state with two heads. The Roman knights, feeling 
strong in such extraordinary privileges 1 , as having the lives 
and fortunes of the greatest men in their hands, were, 
by intercepting the public revenues 2 , robbing the state at 
their pleasure ; while the senate, weakened by the banish- 
ment of Metellus 3 and the condemnation of Rutinus 4 , had 

1 Ch. XVII. Extraordinary privileges] The judices being now elected from 
the equites. See note one. 18. 

2 Intercepting the public revenues] Interceptis vectigalibus. See note on c. 13. 

3 Metellus] Seec. 16. 

4 Rutilius] He bad held the consulship, and was a man of high character, 
but was brought to trial for extortion, and condemned by a faction of the equites. 
Stadius. 



Book III.] EPITOME OF BOMAK HISTOKV. 377 

lost all the pride of their dignity. In this state of affairs, 
Servilius Csepio and Livius Drusus, men eqnal in wealth, 
spirit, and dignity, (whence the rivalship that animated 
[Drusus arose.) proceeded to maintain, the former the cause 
of the equestrian order, and the latter that of the senate. 
Standards, eagles, and banners accompanied each, and there 
was as much hostility in one city as there could have been in 
two camps. Caepio, in the first place, making an attack upon 
the senate, singled out Scaurus and Philippus, leaders among 
the nobility, to prosecute them for briber}' at elections. 
Drusus, to oppose these proceedings, attracted the populace 
to his side by the prospect of passing the laws of the Gracchi, 
and inspired the allies, by means of the same laws, with the 
hope of obtaining the civic franchise. There is a saying of 
his remembered, "that. he had left nothing for any one to give 
away, unless he would distribute dust or air." The day for 
proposing the bills arrived, when suddenly so vast a multi- 
tude showed themselves on all sides, that the city seemed to 
be beset with a crowd of enemies. Yet the consul Philippus 
ventured to oppose the bills : but an officer, seizing him by 
the throat, did not let him go till the blood gushed from his 
mouth and eyes. The bills were accordingly proposed and 
passed by force. But the allies, immediately afterwards, 
demanded the civic franchise which had been offered as the 
price of their assisting to pass them, when death, meantime, 
carried off Drusus, who was unable to keep his word, and who 
was sick of the disturbances which he had rashly excited ; a 
death very seasonable at such a crisis. Nevertheless, the allies 
did not, on that account, cease to demand, by force of arms, 
the performance of Drusus's promise from the Boman people. 

CHAP. XVIII. THE WAB WITH THE ALLIES. 

Though this war be called a war with the allies, to ex- 
tenuate the odium of it, it was, if we acknowledge the truth, 
a civil war. Tor as the people of Borne united in itself the 
Etrurians, the Latins, and the Sabines, and derives one blood 
from them all, it formed one body of those several members, 
and is one people composed of them all. Xor did the allies 
with less disgrace excite an insurrection within Italy than 
the citizens within the city. 



378 flobtts. [Book III. 

When the allies, therefore, had with great justice 1 de- 
manded the freedom of a city which they had strengthened 
by their exertions, (with the hope of which Drusus, from a 
desire of getting power, had inspired them,) the same fire- 
brand that burned Drusus, inflamed the allies, after he was 
cut oiF by the perfidy of his fellow-citizens, to take up arms 
and attack the city. Than such an outbreak what could be 
more sad, what more calamitous ? when all Latium and Pi- 
cenum, all Etruria and Campania, and at last Italy itself, 
rose up in arms against their metropolis and parent ; when 
those monsters of ingratitude from the municipal towns led 
all the flower of our most brave and faithful allies under their 
several standards, Popedius heading the Marsians, Afranius 
the Latins, their whole senate and consuls the TJmbrians 3 , 
and Telesinus the Samnites and Lucanians ; and when a 
people that was arbiter of princes and nations could not 
govern itself, and Eome, that had conquered Asia and 
Europe, was assailed from Corfinium. 

The first step in the war was to have been taken on the 
Alban Mount, when, on the festival of the Latin Ferice, the 
consuls, Julius Caesar and Marcus Philippus, were to have 
been assassinated amidst the sacrifices and altars. That 
atrocity being prevented by a discovery, the whole fury 
of the war burst forth at Asculum, where certain commis- 
sioners, who had come from Eome, were slain in the midst 
of a crowd at the public games. This outrage bound them, 
as it were by an oath, to prosecute the impious war. Im- 
mediately, therefore, the various signals for hostilities 

1 Cli. XVIII. W T ith great justice] Justisslme. " This does not seem to be 
consistent with what is said above, that the allies excited an insurrection with 
disgrace to themselves (flagitio). Unless Floras means that though the demands 
of the allies were just, jet they ought to have borne patiently with the refusal 
of them on the part of Kome, which they were to regard as their mother-city, 
just as children bear with hard treatment from their parents." Duker. 

2 Their whole senate and consuls the Umbrians] Umbros totus senatus et 
consules. Lipsius, Freinshemius, Faber, Perizonius, Grasvius, and Duker, are 
unanimous in suspecting this passage of being corrupt. The name of a leader 
seems to be wanting. Perizonius thinks that we should read Popedius Marsos et 
Latinos; Afranius Umbros; Egnatius Samnium; Lucaniamque Telesinus. 
" Egnatius was an eminent general of the enemy, whom Livy, Epit., lib. lxxv., 
calls nobilissimum ducem, and whom it is not likely that Florus would have 
omitted to mention." Duker. 



Book III.] EPITOME OF KOMAN HISTORY. 379 

sounded through tribes and cities from every quarter of 
Italy, Popedius, the leader and author of the war, hurrying 
about from one place to another. Neither the devastation 
spread by Hannibal, nor that by Pyrrhus, was so great as 
the present. Ocriculum and Grrumentum, Pesuke and Car- 
seoli, Reate, jNuceria, and Picentia, were laid waste with 
slaughter, fire, and sword. The forces of Eutilius, the 
forces of Caepio, were alike defeated. Julius Caesar himself, 
having lost his army, and being brought back to Borne 
covered with blood, passed through the city a wretched 
corpse. But the great good fortune of the Eoman people, 
always more remarkable in adversity than prosperity, rose 
again in all its might. Their generals, respectively, de- 
feated the people whom they attacked ; Cato dispersed the 
Etrurians, Gabinius the Marsians, Carbo the Lucanians, 
Sylla the Samnites ; and Pompeius Strabo, laying waste the 
country about Asculum with fire and sword, did not cease 
from destroying, till, by the overthrow of the place, he had 
made atonement to the manes of so many armies and con- 
suls, and to the gods of so many devastated cities. 

CHAP. XIX. THE WAR AGAINST THE SLAVES. 

Though, in the preceding war, we fought with our allies, 
(which was bad enough,) yet we contended with free men, 
and men of good birth : but who can with patience hear of a 
war against slaves on the part of a people at the head of 
all nations ? The first war with slaves occurred in the 
infancy of Eome, in the heart of the city, when Herdonius 
Sabinus was their leader, and when, while the state was 
distracted with the seditions of the tribunes, the Capitol 
was besieged and wrested by the consul from the servile 
multitude. But this was an insurrection rather than a war. 
At a subsequent period, when the forces of the empire were 
engaged in different parts of the world, who would believe 
that Sicily was much more cruelly devastated by a war with 
slaves than in that with the Carthaginians ? This country, 
fruitful in corn, and, in a manner, a suburban province, was 
covered with large estates of many Roman citizens ; and the 
numerous slave-houses, and fettered tillers of the ground, 
supplied force enough for a war. A certain Syrian, by 
name Eunus, (the greatness of our defeats from him makes 



380 flortjs. [Book III. 

us remember it,) counterfeiting a fanatical inspiration, and 
tossing his hair in honour of the Syrian goddess, excited the 
slaves, by command of heaven as it were, to claim their 
liberty and take up arms. And that he might prove this to 
be done by supernatural direction, he concealed a nut in 
his mouth, which he had filled with brimstone and fire, and, 
breathing gently, sent forth flame together with his words. 
This prodigy at first attracted two thousand of such as came 
in his way ; but in a short time, by breaking open the slave - 
houses, he collected a force of above sixty thousand ; and, 
being adorned with ensigns of royalty, that nothing might 
be wanting to his audacity, he laid waste, with lamentable 
desolation, fortresses, towns, and villages. The camps even 
of praetors (the utmost disgrace of war) were taken by him ; 
nor will I shrink from giving their names ; they were the 
camps of Manilius, Lentulus, Piso, and Hypsaeus. Thus 
those, who ought to have been dragged home 1 by slave- 
takers, pursued praetorian generals routed in battle. At 
last vengeance was taken on them by our general Perperna; 
for having conquered them, and at last besieged them in 
Enna, and reduced them with famine as with a pestilence, 
he threw the remainder of the marauders into chains, and 
then crucified them. But over such enemies he was con- 
tent with an ovation, that he might not sully the dignity of 
a triumph with the name of slaves. 

Scarcely had the island recovered itself, when it passed 
from the hands of a Syrian slave to those of a Cilician. 
Athenio, a shepherd, having killed his master, formed his 
slaves, whom he had released from the slave-house, into a 
regular troop. Then, equipped with a purple robe and a 
silver sceptre, and w r ith a crown on his head like a king, he 
drew together no less an army than the fanatic his prede- 
cessor, and laying waste, with even greater fury, (as if 
taking vengeance for his fate,) villages, fortresses, and 
towns, he vented his rage upon the masters, but still more 
violently on the slaves, whom he treated as renegades. By 
him, too, some armies of praetors were overthrown, and the 
camps of Servilius and Lucullus taken. But Aquilius, fol- 
lowing the example of Perperna, reduced the enemy to ex- 

1 Ch. XIX. To have been dragged home] Eetrahi, Many editions have 
distrahi. 



Book III.] EPITOME OF ROMAK HISTORY. 381 

tremities by cutting off his supplies, and easily destroyed 
by famine forces which were well defended by arms. They 
would have surrendered, had they not, from dread of punish- 
ment, preferred a voluntary death. Not even on their 
leader could chastisement be inflicted, though he fell alive 
into our hands, for while the people were disputing who 
should secure him, the prey was torn to pieces between the 
contending parties. 

CHAP. XX. THE WAR AGAIKST SPARTACTJS. 

"We may, however, support the dishonour of a war with 
slaves, for -though they are, by their circumstances, subjected 
to all kinds of treatment, they are yet, as it were, a second 
class of men, and may be admitted to the enjoyment of 
liberty with ourselves. But the war raised by the efforts of 
Spartacus I know not by what name to call, for the soldiers 
in it were slaves, and the commanders gladiators ; the former 
being persons of the meanest condition, and the latter men 
of the worst character, and adding to the calamity of their 
profession by its contemptibleness. Spartacus, Crixus, and 
(Enomaus, breaking out of the fencing school of Lentulus, 
escaped from Capua, with not more than thirty of the same 
occupation, and, having called the slaves to their standard, 
and collected a force of more than ten thousand men, were 
not content with merely having escaped, but were eager to 
take vengeance on their masters. The first theatre for action 
that attracted them was Mount Vesuvius. Here, being 
besieged by Clodius Grlaber, they slid down a passage in the 
hollow part of the mountain, by means of ropes made of vine- 
branches, and penetrated to the very bottom of it; when, 
issuing forth by an outlet apparently impracticable, they 
captured, by a sudden attack, the camp of the Eoman 
general, who expected no molestation. They afterwards took 
other. camps, and spread themselves to Cora, and through 
the whole of Campania. Not content with plundering the 
country seats and villages, they ravaged, with terrible devas- 
tation, Xola and Xuceria, Tburii and Metapontum. Being 
joined by new forces day after day, and forming themselves 
into a regular army, they made themselves, oat of osiers and 
beasts' hides, a rude kind of shields, and out of the iron from 
the slave-houses forged swords and other weapons. And 



382 FLOBrs. [Book III. 

that nothing proper might be wanting to the complement of 
the army, they procured cavalry by breaking in the herds of 
horses that came in their way, and conferred upon their 
leader the ensigns and fasces that they took from the praetors. 
Nor did he, who of a mercenary Thracian had become a 
Roman soldier, of a soldier a deserter and robber, and after- 
wards, from consideration of his strength, a gladiator, refuse 
to receive them. He afterwards, indeed, celebrated the 
funerals of his own officers, who died in battle, with the 
obsequies of Roman generals, and obliged the prisoners to 
fight with arms at their funeral piles, just as if he could 
atone for all past dishonour by becoming, from a gladiator, 
an exhibitor of shows of gladiators. Engaging next with the 
armies of the consuls, he cut to pieces that of Lentulus, near 
the Apennines, and destroyed. the camp of Caius Cassius at 
Mutina. Elated by which successes, he deliberated (which is 
sufficient disgrace for us) about assailing the city of Rome. 
At length an effort was made against this swordsman with 
the whole force of the empire, and Licinius Crassus avenged 
the honour of Rome, by whom the enemies (I am ashamed to 
call them so) being routed and put to flight, betook them- 
selves to the furthest parts of Italy. Here, being shut up in 
a corner in Bruttium, and attempting to escape into Sicily, 
but having no ships, and having in vain tried, on the swift 
current of the strait, to sail on rafts made of hurdles and 
casks tied together with twigs, they at last sallied forth, and 
died a death worthy of men. As was fitting under a gladiator 
captain, they fought without sparing themselves 1 . Spartacus 
himself, fighting with the utmost bravery in the front of the 
battle, fell as became their general. 

CHAP. XXI. THE CIVIL WAB OF MAKIUS AND SYLLA. 

This only was wanting to complete the misfortunes of the 
Romans, that they should raise an unnatural war among 
themselves, and that, in the midst of the city and forum, 
citizens should fight with citizens, like gladiators in an 
amphitheatre. I should bear the calamity, however, with 

1 Ch. XX. Without sparing themselves J Sine missione. " That is, even to death. 
Missio was leave to withdraw from the hattle, which was sometimes granted to 
conquered gladiators ; but when it was determined that they should fight till one 
of them was killed, the struggle was said to he sine missione" Freinshemius. 



Book III.] EPITOME OF R0MA3" HISTOEX. 383 

greater patience, if plebeian leaders or contemptible nobles 
bad been at the head of such atrocity ; but even Marius and 
Sylla 1 , (0 indignity! such men, such generals!) the grace 
and glory of their age, lent their eminent characters to this 
worst of evils. It was carried on, if I may use the expression, 
under three constellations 2 , the first movement being light 
and moderate, an affray rather than a war, for the violence 
prevailed only between the leaders themselves ; in the next 
rising, the victory spread with greater cruelty and bloodshed, 
through the very bowels of the whole senate ; the third con- 
flict exceeded not merely animosity between citizens, but 
that between enemies, the fury of the war being supported 
by the strength of all Italy, and rancour raging till none 
' remained to be killed. 

The origin and cause of the Avar was jMarius's insatiable 
ambition of honours, in endeavouring to procure for himself 
the province decreed to Sylla by a law of Sulpicius 3 . Sylla, 
provoked at this injustice, immediately led back his legions, 
and, putting off the war with Mithridates, poured two bodies 
of troops into the city by the Esquiline and Colline gates. 
Here Sulpicius and Albinovanus designedly throwing their 
troops in his way, and sticks, stones, and other weapons, being 
discharged on him on all sides from the walls, he himself also 
threw weapons in return, and forced a passage even by fire, 
and triumphantly occupied the citadel on the Capitoline hill 
as a captured fortress, a place which had escaped being taken 
by the Carthaginians and the Grauls. Having then, by a 
decree of the senate, pronounced his opponents enemies to the 
state, he proceeded to the utmost severities, by forms of law, 
upon the tribune who was present 4 , and others of the adverse 
faction. Plight like that of slave saved Marius, or rather 
Fortune preserved him for another war. 

In the consulship of Cornelius Cinna and Cnaeus Octavius, 
the fire, which had been but imperfectly suppressed, burst 

1 Ch. XXL But even Marius and Sylla] Quum vero — Marius et Sylla. All 
the commentators see that this passage stands in need of some correction. 
Freinshemius conjecturesyaw vero. Lipsius and Madame Dacier, with less felicity, 
turn verb. 

2 Under three constellations] Tribus — sideribus. See note on ii., 8. 

3 A law of Sulpicius] Sulpicid lege. Sulpicius was a tribune of the people, 
who had procured a law to be passed for this purpose. 

4 The tribune who was present] Sulpicius, apparently. 



384 flortjs. [Book III. 

forth afresh, being excited, indeed, by a disagreement between 
the consuls themselves, on a proposal being made to the 
people for recalling snch as the senate had declared enemies. 
The assembly met armed with swords, but the party that 
preferred peace and quiet prevailing, Cinna was driven from 
his country, and fled to join Marius. Marius then returned 
from Africa, the greater for his misfortunes ; for the report 
of his imprisonment, chains, flight, and exile, had surrounded 
his dignity with a certain awe. At the name of so great a 
man people flocked together from all parts ; slaves, (a dis- 
graceful proceeding,) and persons condemned to the prisons, 
were armed in his cause; and the unhappy general easily 
found an army. Claiming by force, therefore, a restoration 
to his country from which he had by force been expelled, he 
might seem to have acted with justice, had he not stained his 
cause by cruelty. But as he returned at enmity with gods 
and men 1 , at the very first irruption of his fury, Ostia, the 
ward and foster-child of the city, was pillaged with miserable 
havoc; and his army next entered Rome in four bodies, 
Cinna, Marius, Carbo, and Sertorius, dividing the troops 
amongst them. Here, when the whole force of Octavius had 
been driven from the Janiculum, and a signal had been im- 
mediately after given for the slaughter of the leading men, 
somewhat more of cruelty was shown than would have been 
practised in a town of the Carthaginians or the Cimbri. The 
head of the consul Octavius was exposed upon the Rostra ; 
that of Antonius, who had held the consulship, was displayed 
on Marius' s dining-table ; the Caesars 2 were killed by Fimbria 
in the midst of their own household-gods ; the two Crassi, 
father and son, each in the sight of the other ; the hooks of 
the executioners dragged Basbius and JNTumitorius through 
the middle of the forum; Catulus released himself from 
the insults of his enemies by swallowing fire ; Merula, the 
priest of Jupiter, sprinkled the face of Jupiter himself with 
blood from his veins ; Ancharius was stabbed in the sight of 
Marius himself, because, forsooth, he did not stretch out that 

1 At enmity with gods and men] Dls hominibusque infestus. Desperate; 
conscious that both gods and men were already enraged with hira, and not caring 
how much further he provoked them. 

2 The Caesars] Caius and Lucius, two brothers. 






Book III.] EPITOME OF BOMA2T HTSTOET. 385 

fatal hand 1 when lie saluted him. Such and so many deaths 
of senators did the seventh consulship of Marius produce, 
between the calends and ides of the month of January. "What 
would have happened if he had completed the year of his 
consulship ? 

In the consulate of Scipio and ~N"orbanus the third tempest 
of civil rage thundered forth with its whole fury, eight 
legions, and five hundred cohorts, being ranged in arms on 
the one side, and on the other Sylla returning from Asia 
with his victorious army. And since Marius had been so 
cruel to the party of Sylla, how much further cruelty was 
necessary that Sylla might be avenged on Marius ? The 
first conflict took place at Capua, near the river Yulturnus, 
where the army of Norbanus was instantly put to flight, and 
the forces of Scipio, immediately afterwards, surprised, while 
hopes of peace were held out to them. The younger Marius 
and Carbo, being then made consuls, as if despairing of ulti- 
mate victory, but purposing not to fall unavenged, sacrificed to 
their own manes, as it were, beforehand, with the blood of the 
senate ; and the senate-house being beset, its members were 
led forth, as prisoners from a gaol, to be put to death. "What 
slaughters were committed in the Forum, in the Circus, in 
the open temples ! Quintus Mucius Scsevola, one of the pon- 
tifices, embracing the Vestal altars, was almost buried in the 
same fire with them. Lamponius and Telesinus, leaders of 
the Samnites, wasted Campania and Etruria more cruelly 
than Pyrrhus and Hannibal had done, and revenged them- 
selves under pretence of supporting their party. But at 
Sacriportus, and the Colline gate, all the forces of Marius 
were defeated. At the former place Marius, at the latter 
Telesinus, was conquered. The end of the war, however, was 
not the end of the massacres ; for swords were drawn even 
in peace, and vengeance was taken even on such as had 
voluntarily surrendered. It was a less atrocity that Sylla 
cut to pieces more than seventy thousand men at Sacriportus 
and the Colline gate, for it was then war; but it was a 
greater that he ordered four thousand unarmed citizens to 

1 He did not stretch out that fatal hand, <J'c] Quia fatalem illam scilicet 
manum non porrexerat salutanti. Ancharius approached to salute Marius, but 
Marius did not hold out his hand to him; the followers of Marius, therefore, 
despatched him, according to directions which they had previously received. 

2c 



386 flobus. [Book III. 

be butchered in the Villa Publica 1 . Were there so many 
killed in peace, and no more? "Who, indeed, can reckon 
those whom every one that would, killed in the city ? until 
Eufidius admonishing Sylla that " some ought to be left 
alive, that there might be people for them to rule," that 
great proscription-list was put forth, and two thousand were 
selected, out of the equestrian and senatorial orders, to be 
sentenced to die. This was an edict of a new kind. It 
grieves me to state, after these proceedings, that the deaths 
of Carbo, Soranus the praetor, and Venuleius, were subjects 
of sport ; that Bsebius was severed limb from limb, not by 
the sword, but by the hands of men, like wild beasts 2 ; and 
that Marius, the brother of the general, was kept alive 
awhile at the sepulchre of Catulus, his eyes being put out, 
and his hands and legs being cut off one after another, that . 
he might die as it were piecemeal. 

When the punishments of individuals were nearly over, 
the first municipal towns of Italy were put up to sale, Spole- 
tium, Interamnium, Prseneste, and Florence. As to Sulmo, an 
ancient city in alliance and friendship with us, Sylla (a heinous 
act) ordered it, though not taken by siege, to be destroyed ; 
just as enemies condemned 3 by the law of arms, and male- 
factors sentenced to death, are ordered to be led to execution. 

CHAP. XXII. THE WAE, WITH SEETOEITTS. 

What was the war with Sertorius but a consequence of 
Sylla' s proscription ? Whether I should call it a war with 
foreign enemies, or a civil war, I do not know, as it was one 
which Lusitanians and Celtiberians carried on under the 
conduct of a Roman. Sertorius, a man of great but unsuc- 

1 Villa Publica] See the psuedo-Sallust's Second Epistle to Csesar, c. 5. 

2 Like wild beasts] Ritu ferarum. As beasts would be torn. 

3 Enemies condemned, cfc] The concluding sentence of this chapter is nearly 
unintelligible. It stands thus in Duker's edition : Nam Sulmonem, vetus oppi- 
dum, socium atque amicum {facialis indignum!) nondum expugnatum, ut 
obsides jure belli, elmodo morte damnati duci jubentur : sic damnatam civitatem 
jussit Sulla deleri. For obsides Gronovius proposed to Grasvius to read hostes, 
which succeeding critics have approved. Modo no one has attempted to explain, 
except Wopkens, (Lect. Tullian, 5, transcribed by Duker,) who says that it 
means nulla qucustione adhibita, cazco impetu, or, as we should say, " off-hand." 
I have given to the passage, in the translation, the sense in which I must sup- 
pose that Florus intended it ; omitting the word damnatam. 






Book III.] EPITOPE OF EOMAN HISTOBY. 387 

cessful ability, becoming an exile and fugitive from that fatal 
proscription, disturbed sea and land in consequence of his 
ill- treatment ; and, trying his fortune, at one time in Africa, 
and at another in the Balearic isles, and being driven over the 
Ocean 1 , went as far as the Fortunate Islands, and at length 
armed Spain. A brave man easily unites himself with brave 
men ; nor did the valour of the Spanish soldiery ever appear 
greater than under a Boman general. Nor was he indeed 
content with Spain, but extended his views to Mithridates 
and the people of Pontus, and assisted that king with a fleet. 
And what would have happened if they had formed a junc- 
tion ? The Boman state could not withstand so powerful an 
enemy as Sertorius by means of one general only. To Me- 
tellus was joined Cnseus Pompey : and these two wasted his 
forces for a long time, though always with doubtful success ; 
nor was he at last subdued in the field, until he was betrayed 
by the villany and treachery of those about him. Having 
pursued his forces through almost all Spain, they were long 
in reducing them, the contests being always such that victory 
was dubious. The first battles were fought under the command 
of the lieutenant-generals ; Domitius and Thorius 2 making a 
commencement on one side, and the brothers Herculeii on 
the other. Soon afterwards, the two latter being overthrown 
at Segovia, and the former at the river Anas, the generals 
themselves tried their strength in the field, and at Lauron 
and Sucro suffered equal loss on both sides. Part of our 
army then devoting itself to the devastation of the country, 
and part to the destruction of the cities, unhappy Spain 
suffered for the disagreement between the Boman generals 3 , 
till Sertorius, being cut off by the treachery of his people, 
and Perperna being defeated and given up, the cities them- 
selves submitted to the power of the Bomans, as Osca, 
Termes, Tutia, Valentia, Auxima, and, after having endured 
the extremity of famine, Calagurris. Spain was thus restored 

1 Ch. XXII. Being driven over the Ocean] Missusque in Oceanum. Missus, 
as the critics observe, can hardly be right. Lipsius conjectures victus, Perizonius 
fusus. 

2 Domitius and Thorius] Lieutenant-generals of Metellus ; the brothers Her- 
culeii, on the side of Sertorius, are mentioned by Fronting i., 5, 8, Livy, Epit, 
xc, Eutrop., vi., 1, and other authors. 

3 Roman generals] Sertorius and his opponents. Sertorius was by birth a 
Sabine. 

2c2 



388 tlobus. aMOTMa [-Book III. 

to peace. The victorious generals would have the war ac- 
counted rather a foreign than/ a civil one, that they might 
have the honour of a triumph. 7 ^ht .1 .sae 

CHAP. XXIII. THE CIVIL ¥AE TODEK LEPIDUS. 

In the consulship of Marcus Lepidus, and Quintus Catulus, 
a civil war that was kindled was suppressed almost before it 
began ; but how violent was it 1 ! It was a spark of the great 
civil contention that had spread abroad its fires from the very 
funeral pile of Sylla. For Lepidus, in his presumption, 
being eager for a change in the state of affairs, prepared to 
annul the acts of that eminent man, and not indeed unjustly^ 
if he could have done so without much injury to the common- 
wealth. But he would not; for since Sylla, as dictator, had 
proscribed his enemies by the right of war, if Lepidus re- 
called those of them that survived, for what other end were 
they recalled than for a war ? And since Sylla had assigned 
the estates of the condemned citizens, though seized unjustly^ 
yet by form of law, a demand for their restitution would no 
doubt disturb the city that was now trancjuillised. It was 
expedient, therefore, for the sick and wounded republic to 
continue quiet upon any terms, lest its wounds should be 
torn open by the dressing. 

Lepidus, then, having alarmed the state, as with the blast 
of a trumpet, by his turbulent harangues, set out for Etruria, 
and thence brought arms and an army against Rome. But 
Lutatius Catulus and Cna?us Pompey, the captains. and ring- 
leaders under Sylla' s tyranny, had previously occupied the 
Milvian bridge, and the Janiculan hill, with another army. 
Being repulsed by these generals in the first encounter, and 
afterwards declared an enemy by the senate, he fled back, 
without loss, to Etruria, and thence retired to Sardinia, where 
he died of disease and sorrow of mind. The conquerors, 
which was scarcely ever the case in the civil wars, were content 
with re-establishing peace. 

1 Ch. XXIII. But how violent was it !] In all the editions the passage stands, 
Seel quantum lateque fax illius motus ab ipso Syllce rogo exarsit ! Quantum 
lateque is mere nonsense, as all the commentators allow, except Perizomus, who 
would make it equivalent to quantum et quam late, but, as Duker remarks, 
he should have shown that other writers so express themselves. N. Heinsius 
conjectures quantum quamque late; Duker, quam late ; Is. Vossius, quam longe 
lateque. I have not attempted any close adherence to the text. Madame Dacier 
was inclined to expunge both quantum and lateque. 



Book TV.} EPITOME OF EOMAN HISTOBY. 389 

BOOK IV. 
CHAP. I. THE INSUEEECTIOX OE CATILINE. 

It was in the first place expensive indulgence, and, in the 
next, the want of means occasioned by it, with a fair oppor- 
tunity at the same time, (for the Eoman forces were then 
abroad in the remotest parts of the world,) that led Catiline 
to form the atrocious design of subjugating his country. 
With what accomplices (direful to relate !) did he undertake 
to murder the senate, to assassinate the consuls, to destroy 
the city by fire 1 , to plunder the treasury, to subvert the 
entire government, and to commit such outrages as not even 
Hannibal seems to have contemplated! He was himself a 
patrician ; but this was only a small consideration ; there 
were joined with him the Curii, the Porch, the Syllse, the 
Cethegi, the Antronii, the Yargunteii, the Longini, (what 
illustrious families, what ornaments of the senate !) and 
Lentulus also, who was then praetor. All these he had as 
supporters in his horrid attempt. As a pledge to unite them 
in the plot, human blood 3 was introduced, which, being 
carried round in bowls, they drank among them ; an act of 
the utmost enormity, had not that been more enormous for 
which they drank it. Then would have been an end of this 
glorious empire, if the conspiracy had not happened in the 
consulship of Cicero and Antonius, of whom one discovered 
the plot by vigilance, and the other suppressed it by arms. 

The revelation of the atrocious project was made by Fiilvia, 
a common harlot, but unwilling to be guilty of treason 
against her country. The consul Cicero, accordingly, having 
convoked the senate, made a speech against the accused, who 
was then present in the house ; but nothing further was 
effected by it, than that the enemy made off, openly and ex- 
pressly declaring 3 that he; would extinguish the flame raised 

1 Cb. I. To destroy the city by fire] Distringere incendlis urbem. So ad dis- 
tringendam libertatem, Sen. Benef., vi., 34, where Lipsius would read destrin- 
gendam. 

2 Human blood] See Sail., Cat, c. 22. 

3 Openly and expressly declaring] Seque pahmi professo incendium, §c. The 
passage is evidently corrupt. Madame Dacier would strike out i^rofesso ; Gra3- 
vius would eject $hlabt % and read ex professo, adverbially. Gronovius would 



390 ixobtts. [Book IV. 

against him by a general rnin. He then set out to an army 
which had been prepared by Manlius in Etruria, intending 
to advance under arms against the city. Lentulus, mean- 
while, promising himself the kingdom portended to his 
family by the Sibylline verses, disposed throughout the city, 
against a day appointed by Catiline, men, combustibles, and 
weapons. And not confined to plotting among the people of 
the city, the rage for the conspiracy, having excited the depu- 
ties of the Allobroges, who happened then to be at Rome, to 
give their voice in favour of war, would have spread beyond 
the Alps, had not a letter of Lentulus been intercepted 
through the information of Vulturcius. Hands were imme- 
diately laid on the barbarian deputies, by order of Cicero ; 
and the praetor was openly convicted in the senate. When 
a consultation was held about their punishment, Caesar gave 
his opinion that they should be spared for the sake of their 
rank, Cato that they should suffer the penalty due to their 
crime, Cato's advice being generally adopted, the traitors 
were strangled in prison. 

But though a portion of the conspirators were thus cut 
off, Catiline did not desist from his enterprise. Marching, 
hoAvever, with an army from Etruria against his country, he 
was defeated by a force of Antonius that encountered him 
on the way. How desperate the engagement was, the result 
manifested; for not a man of the rebel troops survived. 
"Whatever place each had occupied in the battle, that very 
spot, when life was extinct, he covered with his corpse. 
Catiline was found, far in advance of his men, among the 
dead bodies of the enemy ; a most glorious death, had he 
thus fallen for his country. 

CHAP. II. THE WAE, BETWEEN CJESAR AND POMPET. 

Almost the whole world being now subdued, the Roman 
empire was grown too great to be overthrown by any foreign 
power. Eortune, in consequence, envying the sovereign 
people of the earth, armed it to its own destruction. The 
outrages of Marius and Cinna had already made a sort of 

read seque palam professus, cj-c, which Vossius, Eupertus, and apparently Duker, 
approve, and which seems to be the only reasonable way of correcting the pas- 
sage. 



Book IV.] epitome or eoma]* history. 391 

prelude -within the city, as if by way of trial. The storm 
of Sylla had thundered even further, but still within the 
bounds of Italy. The fury of Caesar and Pompey, as with a 
general deluge or conflagration, overran the city, Italy, other 
countries and nations, and finally the whole empire wherever 
it extended ; so that it cannot properly be called a civil war, or 
war icitli allies ; neither can it be termed a foreign war ; but 
it was rather a tear consisting of all these, or even something 
more than a war. If we look at the leaders in it, the whole 
of the senators were on one side or the other ; if we consider 
the armies, there were on one side eleven legions, and on the 
other eighteen, the entire flower and strength of the man- 
hood of Italy ; if we contemplate the auxiliary forces of the 
allies, there were on one side levies of Gauls and Germans, 
on the other Deiotarus, Ariobarzanes, Tarcondimotus 1 , Cotys, 
and all the force of Thrace, Cappadocia, Cilicia, Macedonia, 
Greece, iEtolia, and all the East ; if we regard the duration 
of the war, it was four years, a time short in proportion to 
the havoc made in it ; if we attend to the space and ground 
on which it was conducted, it arose within Italy, whence it 
spread into Gaul and Spain, and, returning from the west, 
settled with its whole force on Epirus and Thessaly ; hence 
it suddenly passed into Egypt, then turned towards Asia, 
next fell upon Africa, and at last wheeled back into Spain, 
where it at length found its termination. But the animosities 
of parties did not end with the war, nor subsided till the hatred 
of those who had been defeated satiated itself with the murder 
of the conqueror in the midst of the city and the senate. 

The cause of this calamity was the same with that of all 
others, excessive good fortune. Eor in the consulship of 
Quintus Metellus and Lucius Afranius, when the majesty of 
Rome predominated throughout the world, and Rome herself 
was celebrating, in the theatres of Pompey, her recent vic- 
tories and triumphs over Pontus and Armenia, the overgrown 
power of Pompey, as is usual in similar cases, excited among 
the idle citizens a feeling of envy towards him. Metellus, 
discontented at the diminution of his triumph over Crete 3 , 

1 Ch. II. Tarcondimotus] A prince of Cilicia ; Cotys, a king of Thrace. 

2 At the diminution of his triumph over Crete] Ob imminutitm Cretce 
triumphum. " Not complaining without reason, for the greatest ornament of his 
triumph, the captive leaders, had heen kept back by Pompey." Veil. Pat., ii., 
40. Dion. Cass., lib. sxxvi. 



392 Yfi0 FL0Eus- i0 aMOTi^ra [Book IV. 

Catp, ever an enemy to those in power, calumniated Pompey, 
and raised a clamour against his acts. Resentment at such 
conduct drove Pompey to harsh measures, and impelled him 
to provide some support for his authority. Crassus happened 
at that time to be distinguished for family, wealth, and 
honour, but was desirous to have his power still greater, 
Caius Ca?sar had become eminent by his eloquence and spirit, 
and by his promotion to the consulate. Yet Pompey rose 
above them both. Caesar, therefore, being eager to acquire 
distinction, Crassus to increase what he had got, and Pompey 
to add to his, and all being equally covetous of power, they 
readily formed a compact to seize the government. Striving, 
accordingly, with their common forces, each for his own ad- 
vancement, Caesar took the province, of Gaul, Crassus that of 
Asia, Pompey, that of Spain ; they had three vast armies 1 , 
and thus the empire of the world was now held by these three 
leading personages. Their government extended through 
ten years. At the expiration of this period, (for they had 
previously been kept in restraint by dread of one another,) 
a rivalry broke forth between Caesar and Pompey, consequent 
on the death of Crassus among the Parthians, and that of 
Julia, who, being married to Pompey, maintained a good un- 
derstanding between the son-in-law and father-in-law by 
means of this matrimonial bond. But now the power of 
Caesar was an object of jealousy to Pompey, and the eminence 
of Pompey was offensive to Caesar. The one could not bear 
an equal nor the other a superior. Sad to relate, they 
struggled for mastery, as if the resources of so great an em- 
pire would not suffice for two. Accordingly, in the consul- 
ship of Lentulus and Marcellus, their first bond of union being 
broken, the senate, that is, Pompey, began to think of a suc- 
cessor to Caesar in the consulate; nor did Caesar refuse to 
comply with their wishes, if regard were but had to him at 
the following election. But the consulship, which ten 
tribunes of the people, with Pompey' s approbation, had re- 
cently decreed him in his absence, was now, as Pompey re- 
mained neutral, refused him. It was insisted "that he should 
come and sue for it according to ancient usage." He, on the 

1 Three vast armies] Tres maximos exercitus. These words are without a 
verb in the original. " Some verb," says Grardus, "such as habiiere, must have 
been lost out of the text ; or the three words must have been an interpolation." 



Book IY.] EPITOME OF KOM.A.N HISTOET. 393 

other hand, demanded what had been decreed him, and de- 
clared, that unless they adhered to their word, he would not 
part with his army. A decree was accordingly passed against 
him as an enemy. 

Caesar, provoked at these proceedings, resolved to secure 
the rewards of arms by means of arms. The first scene of 
action, in this civil war, was Italy, of which Pompey had oc- 
cupied the strongholds with light garrisons. Eut they were 
all overpowered by the sudden advance of Caesar. The first 
signal for battle sounded from Ariminum, when Libo was ex- 
pelled from Etruria, Thermus from Umbria, and Domitius 
from Corfinium. The war would have been finished without 
bloodshed, if Caesar could have surprised Pompey at Erundu- 
sium ; and he would have surprised him, had he not escaped 
by night through the barricade of the besieged harbour. Dis- 
honourable to relate ! he that was recently at the head of the 
senate, the arbiter of peace and war, fled across the sea, over 
which he had once triumphed, in a single vessel that was 
shattered and almost dismantled. ]N~or was Pompey driven 
from Italy sooner than the senate was forced from the city, 
which Caesar having entered, when it was almost evacuated 
from fear of him, created himself consul. The sacred treasury, 
too, as the tribunes were slow in unlocking it, he ordered to 
be broken open, seizing the revenue and property of the 
Roman people before he seized their empire. 

Pompey being driven off and put to flight, Caesar thought 
it better to regulate the provinces before proceeding to pur- 
sue him. Sicily and Sardinia, to be assured of corn, he 
secured by means of his lieutenant-generals. In Graul there 
were no remains of hostility ; for he himself bad established 
peace in it. Eut Marseilles, when he wished to pass through 
it in his way to the Spanish armies of Pompey, ventured to 
shut her gates against him. The unhappy city, desirous of 
peace, fell into a war thro ugh fear of war. But, as it was for- 
tified with walls, he left it to be reduced for him in his ab- 
sence. The men of this Greek city, in opposition to the 
effeminacy of its character 1 , ventured to break through the 
j 

1 In opposition to the effeminacy of its character] Noil pro mollitie nommis. 
" Not in accordance with report, which represented all the Greeks, not excepting 
those of Marseilles at that period, as unwarlike and spiritless ; for that the people 
of that city had then degenerated from their former reputation for valour, is 
shown by Bos on Cic, Ep. Att., x., 12." JDuJcer. 



394 flortts. [Book IV. 

enemy's lines, to set fire to their machines, and engage them 
with their vessels. But Brutus, to whom the conduct of the 
siege had been intrusted, defeated them by land and sea, and 
utterly subdued them. At length, when they surrendered, 
everything was taken from them, except, what they valued 
above everything, their liberty. 

In Spain, a doubtful, varied, and bloody contest awaited 
Csesar Avith Petreius and Afranius, the generals of Pompey, 
whom, when they were lying encamped at Ilerda, near the 
river Sicoris, he attempted to besiege, and to cut them off 
from the town. In the mean time, by an overflow of the 
river in the spring, he himself was prevented from getting 
provisions. Thus his camp was assailed by famine, and the 
besieger was himself in a manner besieged. But when the 
river subsided, it left the plains free for devastation and 
contest. Csesar then pressed fiercely upon the enemy, and, 
having overtaken them as they were retreating to Celtiberia, 
forced them with a mole and line of circumvallation, and con- 
sequent privation of water, to capitulate. 

Hither Spain was thus secured; nor did Farther Spain 
long resist. Por what could one legion do, after five had 
been defeated ? Yarro, therefore, readily submitting, Cadiz, 
the Strait of Gibraltar, the Ocean, and everything else, ac- 
knowledged the superior fortune of Caesar. Portune, how- 
ever, in Illyricum and Africa, made some attempt against 
him in his absence, as if on purpose that his successes might 
be made more striking by something unfavourable. Por 
when Dolabella and Antony, who were ordered to secure the 
entrance to the Adriatic, had pitched their camps, the former 
on the Illyrian, the latter on the Curictan shore 1 , at a time 
when Pompey was master of a vast extent of sea, Octavius 
Libo, Pompey's lieutenant-general, suddenly surrounded both 
of them with a large force from the fleet. Pamine forced 
Antony to surrender. Some flat boats sent to his assistance 
by Basilus, such as want of ships had obliged them to make, 
were caught, as it were, in a net, by means of ropes stretched 
under the water, through a new contrivance of the Cilicians 

1 Curictan shore] Curictico litore. " From Curicta, a town at the entrance of 
the Adriatic, called by Ptolemy Koupt/cra." Salmasius. The copies vary 
greatly ; some have Coixyroeo ; others Cretico. 



Book IV.] EPITOME OP ROMAN HISTORY. 395 

in Pompey' s service. Two of them, however, the tide brought 
off ; but one, which bore some men of Opitergium, struck 
upon the shallows, and underwent a fate deserving to be re- 
membered by posterity. A party of something less than a 
thousand men 1 sustained, for a whole day, the weapons of an 
army that entirely surrounded them ; and, when their valour 
had no way of escape, they agreed, in order to avoid a sur- 
render, and at the instigation of the tribune Vulteius, to k il l 
one another. 

In Africa the valour of Curio was equalled by his ill- 
fortune ; for, being sent to secure that province, and elated 
with the conquest and rout of Varus, he was unable to make 
a stand against the sudden arrival of king Juba and the Mau- 
retanian cavalry. After he was defeated, he might have fled ; 
but shame prompted him to die with the army which was 
lost by his rashness. 

But fortune now summoning the pair of combatants, des- 
tined to contend for the empire of the world, Pompey fixed 
on Epirus for the seat of warfare, nor was Caesar slow to meet 
him ; for, having settled everything in his rear, he set sail, 
though the middle of winter obstructed his passage by un- 
favourable weather, to pursue the war ; and, having pitched 
his camp at Oricum, and finding that part of his forces, which 
had been left with Antony for want of ships, made some de- 
lay at Brundusuim, he grew so impatient, that, to get them 
over, he attempted to sail alone in a spy-boat at midnight, 
though the sea was tempestuously agitateM by the wind. A 
saying of his to the master of the boat, who was alarmed at 
the greatness of the danger, is well remembered ; " "What dost 
thou fear? Thou earnest Caesar." 

When the forces of Caesar and Pompey were assembled 
from every quarter, and their camps were pitched at no great 
distance, the plans conceived by the generals were widely 
different. Caesar, naturally daring, and eager to bring the 
affair to a conclusion, displayed his troops, and challenged 
and harassed the enemy, sometimes by besieging their camp, 
which he had inclosed with a wall of sixteen miles in circuit ; 
(but what hurt could a siege do to those who, from the sea 
being open, had abundance of supplies ?) sometimes by fruit- 
less attacks on Dyrrachuim, (a place which even its situation 

1 A thousand men] Not in one boat ; thought it would seem to be so from the 
text. 



396 ixobtjs. [Book IV. 

gendered impregnable,) and, at the same time, .by constant 
engagements with their parties as they sallied out, (at which 
time the extraordinary valour of Scaava the centurion was 
displayed, into whose shield a hundred and twenty weapons 
penetrated 1 ,) as well as by plundering such cities as had 
joined Pompey, among which lie wasted Oricum, and Gom- 
phi, and other strongholds of Thessaly. To counteract these 
attempts, Pompey contrived delays, and declined to fight, "in 
order that he might wear out the enemy, who were hemmed 
in on all sides, with want of provisions, and that the ardour 
of his impetuous opponent might be exhausted. But the 
prudent plan of the general did not long avail him ; the 
soldiers found fault with the inaction in which they were 
kept, the allies with the protraction of the war, and the 
nobility with the general's love of power. Thus the fates 
hurrying him on, Thessaly was chosen as the theatre for 
battle, and the destiny of the city, the empire, and the whole 
of mankind, was committed to the plains of Philippi. IN"ever 
did fortune behold so many of the forces, or so much of the 
dignity, of the Boman people collected in one place. More 
than three hundred thousand men were assembled in the 
two armies, besides the auxiliary troops of kings and nations. 
Kor were there ever more manifest signs of some approach- 
ing destrnction ; the escape of victims, swarms of bees 
settling on the standards, and darkness in the daytime ; 
while the general himself, in a dream by night, heard a clap- 
ping of hands in his own theatre at Borne, which rung in his 
ears like the beating of breasts in sorrow ; and he appeared 
in the morning (an unlucky omen!) clad in black in the 
centre of the army - 

As to the army of Caesar, it was never possessed of greater 
spirit and alacrity. It was on his side that the trumpets 
first sounded, and the darts were first discharged. The 
javelin of Crastinus, too, was noticed as that of the beginner 
of the battle; who, being soon after found among the dead 
bodies of the enemy, with a sword thrust into his mouth, 
proved by the strangeness of the wound the eagerness and 
rage with which he fought. ]N"or was the issue of the contest 

1 A hundred and twenty weapons penetrated] Centum atque liginti tela 
sedere. Some copies have centum atque quadraginta. In Caesar, B.C. iii., 53, it 
is stated that the number of holes in the shield was a hundred and thirty. 



Book IY.] EPITOME OE E03IAX HISTORY. 397 

less wonderful. For though Pompey had so much larger 3 
number of horse, that he seemed capable of easily hemming 
in Caesar, he -was himself hemmed in. When they had 
fought a long time without advantage on either side, and 
Pompey's cavalry had galloped forward at his command from 
one of the wings, the German cohorts on the other side, at 
a given signal, suddenly met the horse in their course with 
so furious a charge, that the cavalry seemed to be but in- 
fantry, and the infantry to advance with the force of cavalry. 
On the overthrow of the retreating horse followed the de- 
struction of the light-armed foot. Consternation then spread- 
ing wider and wider, and the troops of Pompey throwing 
each other into confusion, the slaughter of the rest was 
effected as with one hand 1 , nor did anything contribute to 
the overthrow of the army so' much as its magnitude. 
Caesar exerted himself greatly in the battle, acting a middle 
part, as it were, between a commander and a soldier. Some 
sayings of his, too, which fell from him as he rode about, 
were caught up; one of which was cruel, but judicious and 
conducive to the victory, " Soldiers, strike at the face;" 
another, uttered when he was in pursuit, was intended only 
for effect, " Spare your countrymen.' 5 

Happy had Pompey been, though in misfortune, had the 
same fate that overwhelmed his army fallen upon himself r 
He survived his honour, to nee on "horseback, with more dis- 
grace, through Thessalian Tempe ; to reach Lesbos in one 
small vessel; to be driven from Syedrae 3 , and to meditate, I 
upon a desert rock of Cilicia, an escape to Parthia, Africa, or 
Egypt ; and, finally, to die on the shore of Pelusium, in sight 
of his wife and children, at the word of a most contemptible 
prince, at the instigation of eunuchs, and, that nothing 
might be wanting to his calamities, bv the sword of Septi- 
mius, a deserter from his own armv. 

With the death of Pompey who" would not have supposed 
that the war had been concluded? But the ashes of the 

I 

1 As with one band] Quasi una manu. H That is, very easily, without effort fj 
no. great force being necessary to effect it." Rupertus. 

2 Driven from Syedrge] Pulsus Syedris. " Syedra is mentioned by Ptolemy 
among the maritime towns of Cilicia ; Stephanus calls it a city of Isauria, which 
is often confounded with Cilicia." Salmasius. Before Salmasius the reading was 
pulsis (ox pulsus) Hedris, which puzzled all the editors. 



398 floetjs. [Book IV. 

fire of Thessaly burst forth into flame again with much more 
violence and heat than before. In Egypt, indeed, a war 
arose against Caesar without the influence of Roman faction. 
Ptolemy, king of Alexandria, having committed the crown- 
ing atrocity of the civil war, and assured himself of the 
friendship of Caesar by means of Pompey' s head, but For- 
tune, at the same time, demanding vengeance for the manes 
of so great a man, an opportunity for her purpose was not 
long wanting. Cleopatra, the king's sister, falling at the 
feet of Caesar, intreated that a part of the kingdom might be 
restored to her. The damsel 1 had beauty, and its attractions 
were heightened by the circumstance that, being such as 
she was, she seemed to have suffered injustice ; while Caesar 
had a dislike for the king 2 her brother, who had sacrificed 
Pompey to the fortune of party, and not from regard to 
Caesar, and who would doubtless have treated Caesar himself 
in a similar manner, had his interest required it. Caesar, de- 
siring that Cleopatra should be reinstated in power, was 
immediately beset in the palace by the same persons that 
had assassinated Pompey; but with wonderful bravery, 
though only with a small body of troops, he withstood the 
efibrts of a numerous army. In the first place, by setting 
fire to the neighbouring houses and dockyards, he kept at a 
distance the darts of his eager enemies, and then suddenly 
made his escape to the island of Pharos. Being driven from 
thence into the sea, he swam off, with wonderful good for- 
tune, to his fleet that lay at hand, leaving his military 
cloak in the water, whether by chance, or with a view to its 
receiving, instead of himself, the shower of darts and stones 
hurled by the enemy. At length being taken up by the 
men of his fleet, and attacking the enemy on all sides at 
once, he made atonement to the manes of his son-in-law by 
a conquest of that perfidious nation. Theodotus the king's 
guardian, the author of the whole war, and Pothinus and 
Q-anymede, monsters that were not even men, after fleeing 
in various directions over sea and land, were cut off by 
death. The body of the king himself was found buried in 

1 Damsel] Puella. 

2 Dislike for the king, cf*c] Odium ipsius regis, $c. There seems to be some- 
thing wanting in the text here, as Freinshemius and Duker observe. 



Book IV.] epitome or soman histoey. 399 

the mud of the river, distinguished by a golden coat of 
mail. 

In Asia, too, there arose a new commotion from Pont us, 
Fortune apparently, and as it were purposely, taking this 
opportunity to terminate the kingdom of Mithridates, that 
as the father was conquered by Pompey, the son might be 
conquered by Caesar. King Pharnaces, presuming more on 
our dissensions than on his own valour, poured into Cappa- 
docia with an army ready for action. But Caesar, engaging 
him, overthrew him in one battle, and that, as I may say, 
not an entire one, falling upon him like lightning, which, in 
one and the same moment, comes, strikes, and is gone 1 . 
±soy was it a vain boast on the part of Caesar, " that the 
enemy was conquered before he was seen." 

Such were the occurrences with foreign enemies. But 
in Africa he had a fiercer contest with his own countrymen 
than at Pharsalia. A tide of civil fury had driven the relics 
of the shipwrecked party to this country ; relics, indeed we 
should hardly call them, but rather a complete warlike 
force. The strength of the party had rather been separated 
than defeated. The very calamity of the general had 
strengthened the obligation 2 of their military oath ; nor did 
the succeeding leaders show any degeneracy ; for the names 
of Cato and Scipio had a sufficiently effective sound in the 
room of that of Pompey. To the force on that side was 
added Juha, king of Mauritania, as if that Caesar might 
carry his conquests the further. There was therefore no 
difference in the fields of Pharsalia and Thapsus, except 
that the efforts of the Caesarians were greater and more 
vigorous, as being indignant that the war should have 

1 Comes, strikes, and is gone] Venit, percussit, abscessit. He uses the pre- 
terperfects for the sake of greater effect, as Pearce imagined that Longinus used 
the aorists in sect, i., yyjsos $e — rd re wpdyfiaTa diKrjv (TK-qTrrov irdvra 
hietyoprfG-e, kcli. ttjv tov prjropos evSvs ddpoav ivebei^aro dvvafiLV, 
which passage Smith, believing in Pearce, translated, " The sublime — with the 
rapid force of lightning, has borne down all before it, and shown at one stroke 
the compacted might of genius." Both should have known better. Minellius 
aptly compares Veil. Pat., ii., 7: Ego vix crediderim tarn mature tantam urbem 
iloruisse, concidisse, resurrexisse. See Sail., Jug., c. 106, ccenatos esse. 

2 Had strengthened the obligation, #c] By exciting them to avenge his 
death. 



.TH0T8IH ^OETJS. [Book IV. 

grown up after the death of Pompey. The trumpeters 
(what had never happened before) sounded a charge of 
themselves, before the general gave an order for it. The 
overthrow began with Juba, whose elephants, new to war, 
and lately brought from the woods, were startled at the 
sudden noise, and his army immediately took to flight. 
Xor were the leaders too brave 1 to flee, though the deaths 
of them all were not inglorious. Scipio got off in a ship, 
but, as the enemy overtook him, he thrust his sword into 
his bowels, and when some one asked ivliere lie teas, he 
returned this answer, " The general is well." Juba, having 
betaken himself to his palace, and having banqueted sump- 
tuously on the following day with Petreius the companion 
of his flight, offered himself, at table, in the midst of their 
cups, to be killed by his hand. Petreius slew both Juba 
and himself, and the half- consumed meats, and funeral 
dishes 3 , were mixed with the blood of a king and a Roman. 
Cato was not at the battle, but, having pitched his camp on 
the Bagrada, guarded Utica, as a second barrier of Africa 3 . 
Hearing, however, of the defeat of his party, he did not 
hesitate to die, but even cheerfully, as became a wise man, 
hastened his own death. Dismissing his son and attendants 
with an embrace, and reading in the night, by the light of a 
lamp, that book of Plato which treats of the immortality of 
the soul, he afterwards rested a while, but, about the first 
watch, having drawn his sword, he pierced his breast, which 
he had uncovered with his hand, more than once. After 
this the surgeons would needs trouble him with plasters, 
which he endured till they were gone, and then opened the 
gashes afresh, when a vast quantity of blood issuing forth 
made his dying hands sink on the wounds. 

But as if there had hitherto been no fighting, war, and 
the party of Pompey, arose again; and Spain exceeded 

1 Nor were the leaders too brave, $c.~] Et duces fortius quam ut fugerent, $c. 
Thus stands the passage in Duker's edition, and almost all others, though Sal- 
masius long ago substituted nee, and Freinshemius, Madame Dacier, Perizonius, 
and Duker himself, admitted that the sense demanded the alteration. 

2 Funeral dishes] Parentalia fercula. Because Petreius and Juba slew 
themselves over them. 

3 As a second barrier of Africa] Velut altera Africa claustra. Thapsus 
having been the other. 



Book IT.] EPITOME OF EOMAK HTSTOET. 401 

Africa in tlie struggle as much as Africa had exceeded Thes- 
saly. What now attracted great regard to the party, was, 
that the two generals were brothers, and that two Pompeys 
had appeared instead of one. IN'ever, therefore, were there 
fiercer encounters, or with such dubious success. First of 
all, Varus and Didius, the lieutenant-generals, engaged at 
the very mouth of the Ocean 1 . But their vessels had a 
harder contest with the sea, than with one another. For 
the Ocean, as if it would punish the discord of fellow- 
citizens, destroyed both fleets by shipwreck. "What an awful 
scene was it, when waves, storms, men, ships, and arms, 
mingled in contention at the same time! Consider, too, the 
frightful nature of the situation itself; the shores of Spain, 
on the one side, and of Mauretania on the other, closing as 
it were together ; the internal and external seas 2 , and the 
pillars of Hercules overhanging them, while all around was 
agitated with a battle and a tempest. 

Soon after, they applied themselves, in various quarters, 
to the sieges of cities, which, between the leaders on one 
side and the other, paid a severe penalty for their alliance 
with Borne. Of the battles, the last was fought at Munda. 
Here the contest was not attended with Cesar's previous 
success, but was long doubtful and threatening, so that 
Fortune seemed evidently hesitating how to act. Caesar, 
too, before the battle, was more low-spirited than ordinary, 
whether from meditating on the instability of human things, 
from feeling a mistrust of his long- continued prosperity, or 
from dreading Pompey's fate after having attained Pompey's 
station. But in the course of the battle there occurred an 
incident, such as no man ever remembered to have heard of 
before; for when the two armies, equal in fortune, had been 
wholly engaged in mutual slaughter, there happened sud- 
denly, in the greatest heat of the combat, a deep silence, as 
if by common consent, on both sides. This was an expres- 
sion of general feeling 3 . At last came the dire misfortune, 

1 At the very mouth of the Ocean] In ipso ostio Oceani. Near the straits of 
Gibraltar. " Not tar from Crantia, as Dion., lib. xliii., has it, or Carteia, as 
Hirtius de Bell. Hispan., c. 32." Frelnshemius. 

2 The internal and external seas] Mare et intestlnum et externum. The 
Mediterranean sea, within the strait of Gibraltar, and the Ocean without it. 

3 This was an expression of general feeling] Hie omnium sensus erat. " These 

2d 



402 tloetts. [Book IV. 

strange to the eves of Caesar, that after fourteen years of 
service, his tried body of veterans gave ground. They did 
not indeed flee, but they seemed to resist rather from being 
ashamed to retreat than from real courage. Springing off 
his horse, therefore, he rushed like a madman to the front of 
the battle, where he stayed and encouraged those that were 
shrinking, and made his influence felt through the whole 
body with eye, hand, and voice. Yet, in the confusion, he is 
said to have meditated death, and to have shown plainly by 
his looks that he was inclined to hasten his end, had not five 
battalions of the enemy, which then marched across the field, 
and which had been sent by Labienus to defend the camp 
that was in danger, caused an appearance of flight. This 
the crafty general either believed, or took advantage of the 
movement to make it appear ; and, advancing on the enemy 
as if they were fleeing, he both raised the courage of his own 
men, and damped that of his opponents. The party of Caesar, 
thinking themselves conquerors, pressed forward with greater 
spirit ; that of Pompey, supposing some on their side to be 
fleeing, commenced a general flight. How great the slaughter 
of the enemy was, and how great the rage and fury of the 
conquerors, may be estimated from the following circum- 
stance. The fugitives from the battle having taken refuge 
in Munda, and Caesar giving orders that they should imme- 
diately be besieged, a rampart was formed of dead bodies 
heaped one on another, which were held together by being 
stuck through with lances and javelins; a spectacle that 
would have been horrible even among barbarians. 

"When Pompey' s sons had lost all hope of victory, Caeso- 
nius, having overtaken Cnaeus, who had fled from the field of 
battle, and was making his way, with a wound in his leg, to 
some desert and solitary place, slew him in the town of 
Lauron, still fighting, and proving that his spirit was not 
utterly broken. Fortune, meanwhile, hid Sextus in Celti- 
beria, and reserved him for other wars after Caesar's time. 

Caesar returned triumphant to his native city. The Rhine, 
the Ehone, and the subjugated Ocean formed of gold, repre- 

words are a contemptible gloss." Freinshemius. " I think otherwise ; Floras 
means that all the soldiers, by this silence, testified what they felt, namely, that 
they wished an end to be put to civil contention." Grcevius. " If this was 
Floras's meaning, he ought to have expressed it more plainly, by adding or 
prefixing something to the words." Dicker. 



Book IY.] epitome or boma?t history. 403 

sented his first triumph, for Gaul. The second was for 
Egypt ; when the K~ile, Arsinoe, and the Pharos burning like 
fire, were displayed 1 . The third was for Pharnaees and 
Pontus. The fourth was displayed for Juba and the Moors, 
and twice-conquered Spain. But Pharsalia, Thapsus, and 
Munda, were nowhere to be seen ; yet how much greater 
were those actions for which he had no triumph 2 ! 

There was now, at last, an end of hostilities. The peace 
that followed was free from bloodshed, and atonement was 
made for the war by clemency. No one was put to death by 
Caesar's order except Afranius, (it was enough that he had 
pardoned him once,) and Paustus Sylla, (he had learned to 
be afraid of sons-in-law 3 ,) and the daughter of Pompey with 
her children by Sylla ; in which proceeding regard was had 
to posterity 4 . His countrymen, therefore, being not un- 
grateful, all kinds of honours were conferred on him as the 

1 Arsinoe — displayed] Inferculis — Arsinoe. Madame Dacier thinks that by 
Arsinoe Florus means the picture of a city of that name ; Duker supposes that 
he intends the portrait of Arsinoe, the sister of Cleopatra, but observes that he 
must have erred from not knowing that Arsinoe herself was led in the triumph 
with other captives, as is told by Dion Cassias, lib. xliii. Ferculum was a sort 
of frame or stage on which things were carried in triumphal processions. 

2 For which he had no triumph] He did not triumph on account of those 
battles, says Freinshemius, because in them he had conquered, not foreigners, 
but his own countrymen. See hi., 22, Jin. " Yet that the representations of the 
contests at Pharsalus and Thapsus, as well as the portraits of the brave men 
who fell in them, Scipio, Cato, and Petreius, were carried in triumph, is stated by 
Appian, Bell. Civ., lib. ii. ; * * * * that he triumphed, a fifth time, for his 
victor}* over the Pompeys at Munda, is testified both by Dion Cassius, 1. xliii., 
and by Plutarch in his life of Caesar." Duker. 

3 And Faustus Sylla, (he had learned to be afraid of sons-in-law,) §c.~] Et 
Faustum Sullam : didicerat generos timere : filiamque Pompeii cum patruelibus 
ex Sulla. Under the term sons-in-law Florus comprehends Pompey and Faustus 
Sylla. Caesar had learned from Pompey to dread a son-in-laiv, and he now 
dreaded Faustus Sylla, who, as Florus appears to think, was his grandson-in-law , 
by having married Pompey's daughter. But on this point Florus, as Graevius 
remarks, is in error, for Julia, Caesar's daughter, died childless ; and Faustus 
Sylla's marriage with a daughter of Pompey by another wife did not at all con- 
nect him with Caesar. To the word patruelibus no critic has professed to give a 
satisfactory sense; it admits, indeed, of no explanation, for patruelis is a 
" cousin-german," and to whom can we suppose that Florus called the children of 
Faustus Sylla " cousin-germans ?" I have therefore, instead of it, adopted 
parvulis, the conjecture of Perizonius, approved both by Groevius and Duker. 

4 Eegard was had to posterity] Posteris cavebatur. Lest, if any offspring of 

2d2 



404 7£0 FLOErs. [Book IT. 

sole governor of the state ; as statues iu the temples,: a 
radiant crown to wear in the theatre, a raised seat in the 
senate-house, a cupola on his own house, and a month in the 
heavens. He was, besides, called Father of his country, and 
Perpetual Dictator ; and at last, whether with his own con- 
sent is doubtful, the ensigns of royalty were offered him on 
the Rostra by the consul Antony. 

But all these honours were but as decorations laid on a 
Victim doomed to die. The envy of others overcame the 
clemency of the ruler, and his very power of conferring 
benefits was insupportable to the free. Nor was long delay 
granted him, before Brutus and Cassius, and others of the 
nobility, conspired to put him to death. How great is the 
power of fate ! The knowledge of the conspiracy had spread 
widely ; an account of it, on the very day fixed for its execu- 
tion, had been presented to Caesar himself ; nor was he able, 
when he sacrificed, to find one in a hundred victims propi- 
tious. Tet he ventured into the senate-house, meditating an 
expedition against the Parthians. Here, as he was sitting in 
his curule chair, the senate fell upon him, and he was struck 
to the ground with three -and-twenty wounds. Thus he, who 
had deluged the world with the blood of his countrymen, 
deluged the senate-house at last with his own. 

.at*] r .ti «g:AHO 

CHAP. III. C^SAK, AUGUSTUS. 

)0 Jain Gill 
The Eoman people, when Caesar and Pompey were killed, 
thought that they had returned to their state of pristine free- 
dom ; and they would have returned to it, had neither Pom- 
pey left children, nor Caesar an heir ; or, what was worse, 
had not Antony, once the sharer and afterwards the rival of 
Caesar's power, survived to be the incendiary and disturber 
of the succeeding age. Por as Sextus Pompey sought to 
recover what was his father's, consternation was spread over 
the whole sea ; as Octavius tried to revenge his father's 
death 1 , Thessaly was again to be disquieted; and as Antony, 

jSylla should be left, it might be the means of raising a new war. But Hirtius, 
De Bell. Afric., c. 95, gives a quite different account of the matter, saving that 
Caesar "granted the daughter of Pompey, and her children by Faustus Sylla, 
their lives and all their property." 

1 Ch. III. His father's death]. The death of Julius Caasar, his father by 
adoption. 



Book IT.] epitome or ro^iax histoey. 405 

a man of fickle disposition, either showed displeasure, tliafc 
Octavius should succeed Caesar, or, from love of Cleopatra, 
was ready to degenerate into a king 1 , the Romans could nos 
otherwise find safety but by taking refuge in a state of servi- 
tude. Yet, in the midst of their great distractions, it was f 
source of congratulation, to them that the sovereign power 
fell into the hands of Augustus Caesar, rather than those 
of any other man ; for he, by his wisdom and prudence, 
reduced to order the body of the empire, which was distracted 
in every part, and which, doubtless, would never have coalesced 
and harmonised again, had it not been regulated by the 
direction of one president, as by one soul and mind. 

In the consulship of Mark Antony and Publius Dolabella, 
when Fortune was proceeding to transfer the empire to the 
Caesars, there arose various and manifold convulsions in the 
state ; and, as it happens in the annual revolution of the 
heavens, that the constellations by their motions occasion 
thunder, and make known their change of place by change 
of weather, so, in the change of condition in the Roman 
government, that is, of the whole human race, the body of 
the empire was shaken throughout, and distracted with all 
kinds of perils, and civil wars both bv land and sea. 

CHAP. IY. THE COSTLICT AT MUTINA. 

The first occasion of civil commotion was Caesar's will, 
whose second heir' 3 , Antony, enraged that Octavius was pre- 
ferred before him, raised a desperate war to set aside the 
adoption of the spirited young man. Seeing that he was but 
a tender youth, under eighteen years of age, and therefore a 
fit and proper subject-, as he thought, for any ill-usage, while 
he himself was of high dignity from his* long service with 
Caesar, he proceeded to dismember his inheritance by clan- 
destine acts of injustice, to attack him personally with oppro- 
brious language, and to hinder, by all imaginable artifices, his 

1 Was ready to degenerate into a king] Descisclt in regem. " An elegant ex- 
pression, and agreeable to the feelings of the old Romans, to whom the name of 
king was detestable." Freinshemius. 

2 Ch. IV. Second heir] Secwuhts hosres. " Camers says that he has nowhere 
else read this, but I remember to have read it in Dion. Cass., lib. xliv. The 
second heir is he who takes the place of the first, should the first die before 
the death of the testator." Yinetus. 



406 eloetts. [Book IV. 

co-optation 1 into the Julian family. At last, to crush the 
young man entirely, he openly took up arms against him, 
and, haying got an army in Cisalpine G-aul, besieged Decimus 
Brutus, who opposed his moyements, in Mutina ; but Octa- 
vius CaBsar, recommended to public favour by his age and 
injuries, and by the greatness of the name which he had 
assumed, recalled the veterans to arms, and, though but a 
private person, engaged (who would believe it ?) with a con- 
sul. He relieved Brutus from the siege at Mutina, and 
droye Antony from his camp. On that occasion, too, he 
behaved gallantly in action ; for, wounded and covered with 
blood, he carried back an eagle, which had been committed 
to him by a dying standard-bearer, upon his shoulder into 
the camp. 

CHAP. Y. THE SIEGE OE PEETTSIA. 

The distribution of lands among the soldiers occasioned 
another war ; lands which Caesar assigned the veterans in 
his army as the reward of their service. Euivia, the wife of 
Antony, girt with a sword in the field like a man, stimulated 
Antony's mind, which otherwise was always sufficiently ill- 
disposed, to action. By rousing the husbandmen, therefore, 
who had been driven from their lands, he produced another 
war. Csesar now attacked him as one adjudged an enemy, 
not by private opinion, but by the suffrages of the whole 
senate, shut him up within the walls of Perusia, and, by 
means of a wretched famine, that had recourse to every ex- 
pedient, forced him at last to a surrender. 

CHAP. VI. THE TKITJMVIKATE. 

When Antony,* even alone, was a hindrance to the public 
quiet, and a trouble to the state, Lepidus was joined with 
him, as one fire to another. "What could Caesar then do 2 
against two armies ? He was necessitated to join in a most 
cruel league with their leaders. The views of all the three 
were different. The desire of wealth, of which there was a 
fair prospect from a disturbance of the state, animated 

1 Co-optation] Cooptationem. A formal reception into a family, in con- 
sequence of adoption by a member of it. 

2 Ch. VI. AVhat could Csesar then do, §c.~\ The word Ccesar is wanting in the 
text, but Grzevius shows the necessity of adopting it. 



Book IV.] EPITOME OE ROMAST HISTORY. 407 

Lepidus ; the hope of taking vengeance on those who had 
declared him an enemy, instigated Antony ; the death of his 
father unavenged, while Cassins and Brutus lived offensive 
to his manes, actuated Caesar. With a view to a confederacy 
for these objects, a peace was made among the three generals. 
At Connuentes 1 , between Perusia and Bononia, they joined 
hands, and the armies saluted each other. After no good 
precedent 2 , a Triumvirate was established; and the state 
being subjugated by force of arms, the proscription, first in- 
troduced by Sylla, was revived. Its fury embraced no fewer 
than a hundred and forty senators. The deaths of many, 
who fled into all parts of the world, were shocking, cruel, 
and mournful ; such, indeed, as no one can sufficiently 
lament. Antony proscribed Lucius Caesar, his own uncle ; 
Lepidus, Lucius Paulus, his own brother. It was now a 
common practice to expose the heads of such as had been 
killed, on the Eostra at Rome ; but, though such was the 
case, the city could not refrain from tears, when the head of 
Cicero, severed from his body, was seen on that very Eostra 
which he had made his own ; nor was there a less concourse 
to see him there than there had formerly been to hear him. 
These atrocities proceeded from the lists of Antony and 
Lepidus. Caesar was content with proscribing the assassins 
of his father ; the deaths of whom, had they been less nume- 
rous, might have been thought iust. 

CHAP. VII. THE WAR RAISED BY CASSIUS AKX) BRUTUS. 

Brutus and Cassius seemed to have cast Caesar, like another 
king Tarquin, from the sovereignty ; but the liberty, which 
by his assassination they had hoped to restore, they entirely 
lost. After the murder was committed, they fled from the 
senate-house to the Capitol, being afraid, and not without 
reason, of Caesar's veterans, who did not want inclination to 
avenge his death, but had no leader. As it appeared, how- 
ever, that desolation threatened the commonwealth, ven- 
geance was not then thought proper 3 to be pursued. 

1 Confluentes] At the confluence of the Moselle and the Rhine, now Coblentz. 

2 After no good precedent] Nullo bono more. u In allusion to the preceding 
triumvirate of Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus." DuJcer. 

3 Ch. VII. Vengeance was not then thought proper, cfc.~\ Displicuit ultio. After 



40S 






tlohus. [Book IV. 



But, to escape the eye of the public grief, Brutus and 
Cassius mfkarew into Syria aud Macedonia, the very pro- 
vince assigned them by the Ca?sar whom they had slain. 
Vengeance for Caesar was thus delayed rather than smothered. 
The government being regulated, therefore, rather as it was 

Jossible than as it was requisite, by the Triumviri, and 
^epidus being left to guard the city, Csesar, accompanied by 
Antony, prepared for a war against Cassius and Brutus, who ? 
having collected a vast force, had taken post on the same 
ground that had been fatal to Cnaeus Pompey. But evident 
omens of destined calamity were observed on this occasion. 
Birds, accustomed to feed on dead bodies, flew around the 
camp as if it were already their own. An Ethiopian meeting 
the troops, as the}' were proceeding to the field of battle, 
was too plainly a dismal sign, i Some black phantom, too, 
appeared to Brutus in the night, when he was meditating, 
after his custom, with a lamp by his side, and, being asked 
what it was, replied, u Thy evil Genius." Thus it spoke, 
and vanished from his eyes while he was wondering at its 
appearance. 

In Caesar's camp the birds and victims gave predictions 
with equal significance, but all for the better. Nothing, 
however, was more remarkable, than that Caesar's physician 
was admonished in a dream, that " Caesar should quit his 
camp, which was destined to be taken," as afterwards hap- 
pened. Bor when the battle had commenced, and both sides 
had fought for some time with equal spirit, (though the 
leaders were not present, one of whom sickness, and the 
other fear and indolence 1 , had detained from the field, yet 
the invincible fortune, both of the avenger and the avenged, 
supported the party, the danger being at first equally 
threatening to either side, as indeed the event of the conflict 
showed,) the camp of Caesar was taken on the one side, and 

these words follow cum consulis chbolltlone decretd, of which, according to the 
unanimous voice of the commentators, no sense can be made, and which I have 
consequently omitted. 

1 Fear and indolence] 3 fetus et ignavia. That Antony was thus kept from 
the field, seems to be a gratuitous assertion on the part of Florus. Plutarch 
merely observes that " some said Antony was absent from the battle, and did not 
arrive in the field till his men were in pursuit of the enemy." Vit. Ant., c. 28- 
See also Vit. Brut., c. 61. No other authority is adduced on the subject. 



Book IV.] EPITOME OE EOMA5 HISTOBT. 409 

that of Cassius on the other. But how much more powerful 
is fortune than conduct, and how true is that which Brutus 
said when he was dying, that " Virtue existed not in reality, 
but merely in name 1 !" A mistake settled the victory in this 
battle. Cassius, at a time when one of his wings was giving 
way, observing his cavalry, after having surprised Caesar's 
camp, coming back at full speed, imagined that they were 
fleeing, and withdrew to a neighbouring hill, where the dust 
and confusion, with the approach of night, obstructing his view 
of the action, and a scout, whom he sent for the purpose, 
being slow in bringing intelligence, he concluded that his 
party was utterly defeated, and caused one of his followers 
to strike off his head. 

Brutus, having lost his very soul in Cassius, and being re- 
solved to adhere strictly to their compact, (for they had agreed 
that both should survive the battle, or neither 2 ,) presented 
his side to one of his attendants, that he might run him 
through with his sword. 

AVho cannot but wonder, that these wisest of men did not 
use their own hands to despatch themselves ? But perhaps 
this was avoided from principle 3 , that they might not, in re- 
leasing their most pure and pious souls, stain their own hands, 
but, while they used their own -judgment, might allow the 

crime of the execution to be another's. 

j doidw . 

CHAP. Till. THE WAB WITH SEXTES POJIPET. '? 9< ? 

Though the assassins of Caesar were cut off, the house of 
Pompey was yet left. One of the young men, his sons, had 
fallen in Spain; but the other had escaped by flight, and, 
having collected the relics of the unhappy war, and armed a 

1 Virtue existed — merely in name] This saying of Brutus is wholly' inappli- 
cable here. Flor us first uses virtus in a military sense, (for conduct or ability ^ 
and then confounds with it virtus in a moral sense. 

2 Both should survive the battle, or neither] Ita enim par superesse hello con- 
venerat. Of these words, from which the critics extract no satisfactory sense, 
I have borrowed Clarke's translation. Freinshemius seems to offer the best 
emendation : Ita enim super isto hello convenerat. " Quid sibi velit hie par,'' says 
Salmasius, " non video." 

3 From principle] Ex persuasione. " The word persuasio is also applied to 
the sentiments and principles of the philosophers by Quintilian, xii., 2." Lulcer. 
The sentiment at the conclusion of this chapter is, as Salmasius says, sufficiently 
turgid. 



OlJS 9UJ IIO . 



410 floeus. [Book IV. 

body of slaves, kept possession of Sicily and Sardinia. He 
had now also covered the sea with a fleet. But how different 
was he from his father ! The one had suppressed the Cilician 
pirates ; the other carried pirates in his own vessels. This 
youth was entirely overpowered, in the Strait of Messina, 
with a vastly superior force 1 ; and, had he attempted nothing 
afterwards, would have carried with him to the grave the re- 
putation of a great commander. But it is the mark of a great 
genius to hope always. After his defeat he fled, and sailed 
to Asia, where he was destined to fall into the hands and 
fetters of enemies, and, what is most intolerable to the brave, 
to die by the sentence of his foes under the axe of the execu- 
tioner. There never was a more wretched flight since that 
of Xerxes. For he who, a short time before, was master of 
three hundred and fifty ships, fled with only six or seven, 
putting out the light of his own vessel, casting his rings into 
the sea 3 , and looking anxiously behind him, yet not afraid 
that he should perish 3 . 

CHAP. IX. THE PAETHIAK WAE, UKDEE YENTIDIUS. 

Although Ca?sar, by defeating Cassius and Brutus, had 
disabled their party, and, by cutting off Pompey, had extir- 
pated its very name, yet he could not succeed in establishing 
peace as long as that rock, knot, and obstacle 4 to the public 
tranquillity, Antony, remained alive. He himself, indeed, 
by reason £>f his vices, was not wanting to his own destruc- 
tion ; but by indulging, from ambition and luxury, in eveiy 

1 Ch. VIII. With a vastly superior force.] Tantd mole. The tarda is evidently 
corrupt. Tollius conjectures tandem totd mole. 

2 Casting his rings into the sea] Annulis in mare abjectis. What rings are 
meant, is a point of dispute. Madame Dacier and Duker think that they are the 
rings Sextus Pompey wore on his fingers, and which he threw away that he 
might not be known by them. Eupertus supposes that they were the fetters 
worn by the rowers who were the slaves of Pompey, (fetters being called rings by 
Martial, Epig., ii., 29, xi., 38,) and which were thrown away that they might 
make less noise ; a supposition much less probable than the other. 

3 Not afraid that he should perish] Non timens ne periret. "Here I accept 
the interpretation of Eupertus, who says that Sextus Pompey had hopes of safety 
from Antony." Duker. 

4 Ch. IX. Knot and obstacle] Nodus et mora. " In imitation of Virgil, zEn. 7 
x., 428 : Pugnaz nodumque moramqueP Freinshemius. 



Eook IY.] EPITOME OE E0MA3T HISTOEY. 411 

irregular course, lie first freed our enemies, then his own 
countrymen, and lastly the age in which he lived, from the 
dread of him. 

The Parthians, on the overthrow of Crassus, had assumed 
greater courage, and had heard with joy of the civil discords 
among the Romans. As soon, therefore, as an opportunity 
showed itself, they did not hesitate to rise in arms, especially 
as Labienus earnestly incited them, who, having been sent 
thither by Brutus and Cassius, such is the madness of civil 
discord, had solicited the enemies of Rome to assist them. 
The Parthians, under the conduct of Pacorus, a youth of the 
royal family, expelled the garrisons of Antony. Saxa, An- 
tony's lieutenant-general, owed it to his sword that he did 
not fall into their hands. At length, Syria being taken 
from us, the evil extended itself more widely, as the enemy, 
under pretence of aiding others, were conquering for them- 
selves, and would have continued to conquer, had not Yen- 
tidius, also a lieutenant-general of Antony, overthrown, with 
incredible good fortune, not only the forces of Labienus, but 
Pacorus himself, and all the Parthian cavalry, along the whole 
plain between the Orontes and Euphrates. The slain amounted 
to more than twenty thousand 1 . JNor was this effected with- 
out stratagem on the part of the general, who, pretending 
fear, suffered the enemy to come so close on our camp, that, 
by depriving them of room for discharging their arrows, he 
rendered them useless. The prince fell fighting with great 
bravery ; and his head being carried about through the cities 
which had revolted, Syria was soon recovered without fur- 
ther war. Thus by the slaughter of Pacorus we made com- 
pensation for the overthrow of Crassus. 

CHAP. X. THE WAE OE AKTOKY WITH THE PAETHIA^S. 

After the Parthians and Romans had made trial of one 
another, and Crassus and Pacorus had given proof of their 
mutual strength, their former friendship was renewed with 
expressions of equal regard on either side, and a treaty with 

1 More than twenty thousand] Viginti amplius millium fait. " The author is 
obscure," as Duker remarks, " from excess of brevity," for he leaves it uncertain 
whether the slaughter was of the cavalry or of the whole army. I have followed 
the interpretation of Faber. 



412 .Tff otbih mmm.^o emotim [B6bk IV, 

the king was concluded by; Antony himself. But such was 
the excessive vanity of the man, that being desirous, from a 
love of distinction, to have Araxes and Euphrates read under 
his statues, he suddenly quitted Syria, and made an inroad 
on those very Parthians, and that without any cause or rea- 
son, or even pretended proclamation of war, as if it were 
among a general's accomplishments to surprise people by 
stealth. The Parthians, who, besides having confidence in 
their arms, are crafty and subtle, pretended to be alarmed, 
and to retreat across the plains. Antony, as if already vic- 
torious, instantly pursued, when suddenly a body of the 
enemy, not very numerous, rushed suddenly forth, like a 
storm of rain, upon the Eomans, who, as it was evening, 
were tired with the day's inarch. Discharging their - : arrows 
from all sides, they overwhelmed two legions. But this Avas 
nothing in comparison with the destruction that would have, 
met them on the following day, had not the mercy of the 
gods interposed. One of the Eomans who had survived the 
overthrow of Crassus, rode up to the camp in a Parthian 
dress, and having saluted the soldiers in Latin, and thus 
gained credit with them, told them of the danger which 
threatened them : saying, that " the king would soon come up 
with all his forces ; that they ought therefore to retreat, and 
take shelter in the mountains ; and that possibly, even if they 
did so, enemies would not be wanting." In consequence, a 
smaller number of enemies overtook them than had been in- 
tended. Overtake them, however, they did ; and the rest of 
the army would have been destroyed, had not the soldiers, 
while the arrows were falling on them like hail, fortunately 
sunk down, as if they had been taught, upon their. knees, 
holding up their shields above their heads, and making it 
appear as if they were killed. The Parthians then refrained 
from shooting. "When the Eomans afterwards rose up, the 
proceeding appeared so like a miracle, that one of the bar- 
barians exclaimed, " Go, and fare ye well, Eomans; fame 
deservedly speaks of you as the conquerors of nations, since 
you have escaped death from the arrows of the Parthians." 
After this, there was no less endured from want of water, 
than at the hands of the enemy. The country, in the first 
place, was deadly from its drought ; the river, too, with its 



Book "IV.] EPITOME OF ROMAF HISTOBY. 413 

brackish and bitter water 1 , was more deadly to some; and 
besides, even good water was pernicious to many, being 
drunk greedily when they were in a weak condition. Sub- 
sequently the heat of Armenia, i the snows of Cappadocia, 
and the sudden change in climate from one to the other, was 
as destructive as a pestilence. Scarce the third part, therefore, 
of sixteen legions being left, and his silver being everywhere 
cut up with hatchets 2 , the excellent general, begging death, 
from time to time, at the hands of a gladiator of his, escaped 
at last into Syria, where, by some unaccountable perversion 
of mind, he grew considerably more presuming than before, 
as if he had conquered because he had escaped. 

i 

CHAP. XI. THE WAS, WITH ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 

The madness of Antony, which could not be allayed by 
ambition, was at last terminated by luxury and licentious- 
ness. After his expedition against the Parthians, while he 
was disgusted with war and lived at ease, he fell in love 
with Cleopatra, and, as if his affairs were quite prosperous, 
enjoyed himself in the queen's embraces. 

This Egyptian woman demanded of the drunken general, 
as the price of her favours, nothing less than the Roman 
empire. This Antony promised her ; as though the Bomans 
had been easier to conquer than the Parthians. He there- 
fore aspired to sovereignty, and not indeed covertly, but- 
forgetting his country, name, toga, and fasces, and degene- 
rating wholly, in thought, feeling, and dress, into a monster 3 . 
In his hand there was a golden sceptre ; a scymitar by his 
side ; his robe was of purple, clasped with enormous jewels ; 

ii SB c n i 

1 Ch. X. With its brackish and bitter water] Salinacidis,,sc* aquis, according 
to Salmasius, whom Gramus and Duker follow. A word compounded of scdinus 
(for 3al$us) and acidus. Others write the word salmacldus, as in Flin. H. X., 
xxxi., 3, 22; but Salmasius's method 'appears the better. 

2 And his silver being everywhere cut up with hatchets] Q\mm argehtmn ejus 
passim dolabris concideretur. This was done, according to Plutarch, by Antony's 
own soldiers, during a riot. " Those who were known. to be possessed of gold or 
silver were slain and plundered, and the money conveyed in the baggage was 
carried off. Last of all his [Antony's] own baggage was seized, and the richest 
bowls and tables were cut asunder and divided among the pillagers." Life of 
Antony, c G4. Langhorne's Translation. 

3 Ch. XL Into a monster] In Mud monstrum. That is, into that monster of 
a king, such as he is afterwards described. See note on desciscit in regem, c. 3. 



414 flortjs. [Book IV. 

and he wore a diadem, that he might dally with the queen 
as a king. 

At the first report of his new proceedings, Csesar had 
crossed the sea from Brandusium to meet the approaching 
war. Having pitched his camp in Epirus, he beset the 
island of Leucas, Mount Leucate, and the horns of the 
Ambracian Gulf, with a powerful fleet. We had more 
than four hundred vessels, the enemy about two hundred, 
but their bulk made amends for their inferiority in num- 
ber; for, having from six banks of oars to nine, and 
being mounted with towers and high decks, they moved 
along like castles and cities, while the sea groaned and the 
winds were fatigued. Yet their magnitude was their de- 
struction. Caesar's vessels rose from three banks of oars to 
not more than six, and being therefore ready for all that 
necessity required, whether for charging, retreating, or 
wheeling round, they attacked, several at once, each of 
those heavy vessels, too unwieldy for any kind of contest, 
as well with missile weapons, as with their beaks, and fire- 
brands hurled into them, and dispersed them at their 
pleasure. Nor was the greatness of the enemy's force 
shown by anything so much as by what occurred after the 
victory. The vast fleet, being shattered in the engagement, 
spread the spoils of the Arabians and Sabaeans, and a thou- 
sand other nations of Asia, over the whole face of the deep. 
The waves, driven onward by the winds, were continually 
throwing up piu'ple and gold on the shore. The queen, 
commencing the flight, made off into the open sea with her 
gilded vessel and sails of purple. Antony immediately 
followed. 

But Caesar pursued hard on their track. Neither their 
preparations, therefore, for flight into the Ocean 1 , nor the 
securing of the two horns of Egypt, Paraetoniuni and Pelusiuin, 
with garrisons, were of the least profit to them. They were 
almost caught by Caesar's own hand. Antony was the first 
to use his sword against himself. The queen, falling at the 
feet of Caesar, tempted his eyes in vain ; for her charms were 

1 Preparations — for flight into the Ocean] Prceparata in Oceanum fuga. 
Floras alludes to the project of Cleopatra, to draw her vessels over the Isthmus 
of Suez from the Mediterranean into the Bed Sea, and to flee to some more re- 
mote country. See Plutarch, Vit. Anton., c. 89. 



Book IV.] EPITOME OF ROMAS" HISTORY. 415 

too weak to overcome the prince's continence. Her snit was 
not for life, which was offered her, but for a portion of the 
kingdom. Despairing of obtaining this from Caesar, and 
seeing that she was reserved for his triumph, she took advan- 
tage of the negligence of her guard, and withdrew herself 
into a mansolenm, a name which they give to the sepulchres 
of their kings 1 . Having there put on her best apparel, as 
she used to be dressed, she placed herself by her dear An- 
tony in a coffin 2 filled with rich perfumes, and, applying 
serpents to her veins, died a death resembling sleep. 

CHAP. XII. WARS WITH FOREIGN RATIO'S. 

This was the termination of the civil wars. Those which 
followed were with foreign nations, and started up in various 
parts of the world while the empire was distracted with its 
own troubles. Peace was new ; and the swelling and proud 
necks of the nations not yet accustomed to the curb of 
bondage, recoiled from the yoke that had been but recently 
imposed upon them. The pail: of the world lying to the 
north, peopled by the Xorici, Illyrians, Pannonians, Dalma- 
tians, Mysians, Thracians, Dacians, Sarmatians, and Germans, 
was in general the most violent. The Alps and then snows, 
to which they thought that war could not reach, gave confi- 
dence to the BTorici ; but Ca?sar, with the aid of his step-son, 
Claudius Drusus, subjugated all the people of those regions, 
the Brenni, Senones, and Tindelici. How savage these 
nations were 3 , their women plainly proved, for, when weapons 
failed, they threw their very infants, after having dashed 
them on the ground, in the faces of the soldiers. 

The Illyrians lie at the foot of the Alps, and guard their 
deep valleys, which are a sort of barriers 4 of defence to them, 

1 A name which they give to the sepulchres of their kings] Sepulchra regum 
sic vacant. Salmasius and Freinshemins would eject these words, as a mere in- 
truded gloss. 

2 In a coffin] In solio. u Solium is here put for the loculus (coffin) in which 
dead bodies were buried; as in Plin. H. X., xxxv., 12; Q. Curt., x. ? 1, 32.*' 
Freinshemius. Also Suet. Xer., c. 50: Solium Porphyvetici marmoris. 

3 Ch. XII. How savage these nations were] Quce fmrit callidarum gentium 
feritas. The word callidarum, with which none of the critics are satisfied, I 
have omitted. Salmasius conjectures Alpicarum; Xic. Heinsius Validarum. 

4 A sort of barriers] Et qu&dam quasi claustra. I read ut, with Gruter. 



$l£ FLOKTJS. [Book IY. 

surrounded by precipitous torrents. Against this people 
Caesar himself undertook an expedition, and ordered bridges 
to be constructed in order to reach them. Here the waters 
and the enemy 1 throwing his men into some confusion, he 
snatched a shield from a soldier hesitating to mount a bridge, 
and was the first to inarch across ; and when the army had 
followed, and the Illyrians, from their numbers, had broken 
down the bridge, he, wounded in his hands and legs, and 
appearing more comely in blood and more majestic in danger 3 , 
did great execution on the enemy's rear. 

The Pannonians were defended by two forests, as well as 
; by three rivers, the Drave, the Save, and the Ister. After 
laying waste the lands of their neighbours, they had with- 
drawn themselves within the banks of the streams. To 
reduce them, he despatched Vibius, and they were cut to 
pieces along both the rivers 3 . The arms of the conquered 
were not burnt, according to the usage of war, but were 
gathered up, and thrown into the rivers, that the news of the 
victory might thus be conveyed to those who still held out. 

| The Dalmatians live for the most part in woods, whence 
|hey boldly sally out to commit robberies. This people 
Marcius had before, as it were, deprived of a head, by burn- 
ing their city Delminium. Afterwards Asinius Pollio, he 
that was the second orator in Kome 4 , deprived them of their 
flocks, arms, and lands. But Augustus committed the final 
subjugation of them to Vibius, who forced the savages to dig 
the earth, and collect the gold from its veins, for which this 
nation, naturally the most covetous of all people, seeks with 

I * Here the waters and the enemy, <Jc] Hicse et aquis et koste turbantibus. " I 
cannot see the propriety of the pronoun se, and could wish it were absent. * * * 
But if for se were substituted suos, there would be no obscurity." Duher. 

2 More comely in blood and more majestic in danger] Speciosior sanguine, et 
ipso periculo augustior. 

3 Along both the rivers] In utrisquejluminibus- Three rivers are mentioned 
above, tribus jluviis, Bravo, Savo, Histroque. But Bistro is not found in all the 
manuscripts, and Salmasius would therefore read Jluviis Bravo Savoque, omitting 
tribus. Perizonius conjectures satis acribus jluviis, Bravo Savoque. 

4 He that was the second orator in Eome] Hie secundus orator, f I know 
not what these words mean, unless it be that Pollio was second to Cicero. I would 
rather read facundus ; * * * but, to say the truth, I am inclined to think 
the words a mere gloss, which somebody had written in the margin of his copy, 
as his own designation of Pollio." Freinshemius. Vinetus, Isaac Vossius, 
Madame Dacier, Tollius, and Duker, are of the same opinion. 



Book IV.] EPITOME OF B&M& HISTOEY. 417 

care and industry, so that they appear to hoard it for their 
own purposes. 

To describe how cruel and inhuman the Mysians are, and 
how much the most barbarous of all barbarians, would be a 
horrid task. One of their leaders, calling for silence in front 
of the army, exclaimed, "Who are you?" The answer 
returned was, " The- Romans, lords of all nations." "So 
you may be," they retorted, "if you conquer us." Marcus 
Crassus took their words for an omen. They, having straight- 
way offered up a horse before their lines, made a vow that 
"they would sacrifice, and eat, the bowels of the Eoman 
generals that they should kill." I could suppose that the gods 
heard them, for they could not endure even the sound of our 
trumpets. Domitius, a centurion, a man of stolidity suffi- 
ciently barbarous, yet effective against men like himself, 
struck the savages with no small terror, by mounting a pan 
of coals upon his helmet, and shedding from his head, which 
appeared on fire, a flame excited by the motion of his body. 

Before these the people of Thrace 1 had revolted. These 
barbarians had been accustomed to the military standards, 
discipline, and arms of the Romans. But being subdued by 
Piso, they showed their violent spirit even in captivity, 
attempting to bite their chains, and thus punishing their 
own fierceness. 

The Dacians live among the mountains. But, whenever 
the Danube became passable by being frozen, they were 
accustomed, at the command of Cotiso their king, to make 
descents, and lay waste the neighbouring country. This 
people, so difficult of approach, Caesar Augustus determined 
to drive back. Having despatched Lentulus for this purpose, 
he repulsed them beyond the further bank, and built garrisons 
on this side of the river. The Dacians were not, therefore, 
conquered, but repelled, and left for a future opportunity. 

The Sarmatians occupy wide plains, in which they ride 
about ; and it was thought sufficient to prevent them, by the 
exertions of the same Lentulus, from crossing the Danube. 
They have nothing on the face of their territory but snows 
and a few woods, and such savages are they, that they know 
not what peace is. 

1 The people of Thrace] Thracum maxirne populus* I have omitted maxime, 
as unintelligible. Madame Dacier and Grarrius wonld read maximus. 

2 E 



418 IX0BT7S. [Book IV. 

I wish lie had not thought it of so much importance to 
conquer Germany. The dishonour with which it was lost 
was greater than the glory with which it was gained. But 
because he knew that Caesar, his father, had twice made bridges 
over the Ehine to prosecute the war against the country, 
he was desirous, in honour of him, to make it a province, 
and it would have been made so effectually, if the barbarians 
could have endured our vices as well as our government. 
Drusus 1 , being sent into the country, first subdued the Usi- 
petes, and then overran the districts of the Tenctheri and 
Catti. Of the remarkable spoils of the Marcomanni he raised 
a high mound, by way of a trophy. Next he attacked, at 
the same time, the three powerful tribes of the Cherusci, 
Suevi, and Sicambri, who had commenced the war by burning 
twenty of our centurions, regarding this proceeding as a 
bond of union, and entertaining such confident hopes of vic- 
tory, that they divided the spoil by agreement beforehand. 
The Cherusci chose the horses, the Suevi the gold and silver, 
and the Sicambri the captives. But all happened contrary 
to their expectations ; for Drusus, proving conqueror, divided 
their horses, cattle, gold chains, and themselves, as spoil, and 
sold them. For the defence of the provinces, too, he fixed 
garrisons, and bodies of guards, along the Meuse, the Elbe, 
and the Weser. On the banks of the Ehine he raised more 
than fifty fortresses. He built bridges at Bonn and Greso- 
riacum 2 , and secured them with ships. He opened away 
through the Hercynian forest, which, till that time, had been 
unpenetrated and unattempted. At length such peace was 
made throughout Germany, that the inhabitants seemed 
changed, the ground different from what it was, and the air 
milder and softer than it was wont to be. And when that 
brave young man died there, the senate gave him a surname 
from the province, (an honour which they had never be- 
stowed on any other general,) not from flattery, but in testi- 
mony of his merit. 

But it is more difficult to retain 3 provinces than to acquire 

1 Drusus] Step-sou of Augustus ; the same that is mentioned by Horace, 
Od., iv., 4. 

2 Gesoriacum] Afterwards called Bononia, whence its modern name Bou- 
logne. 

3 More difficult to retain, #c] He has the same remark, h\, 17. 



Book IV.] EPITOME OE ROMA'S" HISTORY. 419 

theni. They are obtained by force, but secured by justice. 
Our exultation was accordingly but short. The Germans 
had been defeated rather than subdued. Under the rule of 
Drusus they respected our manners rather than our arms. 
Eutwhen Drusus was dead, they began to detest the licentious- 
ness and pride, no less than the cruelty, of Quintilius Varus. 
He ventured to call an assembly, and administered justice in 
his camp, as if he could restrain the violence of barbarians by 
the rods of a lictor and voice of a crier. But the Germans, 
who had long regretted that their swords were covered with 
rust, and their horses idle, proceeded, as soon as they saw 
the toga, and felt laws more cruel than arms, to go to war 
under the conduct of Arminius, while Varus, meantime, was 
so well assured of peace, that he was not the least alarmed, 
even by a previous notice, and subsequent discovery of the 
plot, made by Segestes, one of the enemy's chieftains. 
Having, therefore, risen upon him unawares, and fearing 
nothing of the kind, while he, with a strange want of precau- 
tion, was actually summoning them to his tribunal, they 
assailed him on every side, seized his camp, and cut off three 
legions. Varus met his overthrow with the same fortune 
and spirit with which Panlus met the day of Cannse. Never 
was slaughter more bloody than that which was made of the 
Romans among the marshes and woods ; never were insults 
more intolerable than those of the barbarians, especially such 
as they inflicted on the pleaders of causes. Of some they 
tore out the eyes, of others they cut off the hands. Of one 
the mouth was sewed up, after his tongue had been cut out, 
which one of the savages holding in his hand, cried, " At 
last, viper, cease to hiss." The body of the consul himself, 
which the affection of the soldiers had buried, was dug out 
of the ground. To this day the barbarians keep possession 
of the standards and two eagles 1 ; the third, the standard- 
bearer, before it fell into the hands of the enemy, wrenched 
off, and keeping it hid within the folds of his belt, concealed 

1 To this day — two eagles] Aquilas duas adhuc barbari possident. Frein- 
shemius observes that these were recovered before the time of Florus ; one by 
Stertinius, as is stated in Tacit. Ann., i., 60 ; and the other by Gabinius, as is told 
by Dion Cassius, lib. lx. " Lipsius, on Tacit. Ann., ii., 25, expresses a suspicion 
that Florus copied his account from some Roman historian who wrote before the 
recovery of the eagles." Duker. 

2E 2 



420 tloeus. [Book IV. 

himself in the blood-stained marsh/ In consequence of this 
massacre, it happened that the empire, which had not stopped 
on the shore of the Ocean, found its course checked on the 
banks of the Bhine. 

Such were the occurrences in the north. In the south 
there were rather disturbances than wars. Augustus quelled 
the Musulanians and Gretulians, who border on the Syrtes, 
by the agency of Cossus, who had thence the surname of 
Getulicus. But his successes extended further. He assigned 
the MarmaridaB and Garamantes to Curinius to subdue, who 
might have returned with the surname of Marmaricus, had 
he not been too modest in setting a value on his victory. 

There was more trouble with the Armenians in the east, 
whither Augustus sent one of the Caesars his grandsons 1 . 
Both of them were short-lived, but only one of them died 
without glory. Lucius was carried off by disease at Mar- 
seilles, Caius in Syria by a wound, whilst he was engaged in 
recovering Armenia, which had revolted to the Parthians. 
Pompey, after the defeat of king Tigranes, had accustomed 
the Armenians to such a degree of bondage as to receive 
rulers from us. The exercise of this right, after having been 
interrupted, was, by Caius Drusus, recovered in a slight 
struggle, which, however, was not without bloodshed. Dom- 
nes, whom the king had made governor of Artaxata, pre- 
tending that he would betray the place, struck Drusus as he 
was intent on perusing a scroll, which the assassin had just 
presented to him as containing an account of the treasures. 
He was hurt 3 , but recovered of the wound for a time. But 
Donines, pursued on all sides by the incensed army, made 
some atonement to Csesar while he still survived, not only 
by his sword, but a burning pyre, on which, w T hen wounded, 
he cast himself. 

In the west, almost all Spain was subdued, except that 
part which the Hither Ocean 3 washes, and which lies close 
upon the rocks at the extremity of the Pyrenees. Here two 

1 His grandsons] Sons of his daughter Julia and Marcus Agrippa. 

2 Hurt] Sir ictus. Stringere, used in this way, is generally leviter vulnerare. 

3 Hither Ocean] Citerior Oceanus. What Florus meant by Citerior Oceanus, 
neither Ryckius, nor Madame Dacier, nor Duker, can settle. The Cantabri and 
Astures were situate near the end of the Pyrenees furthest from Rome, on the 
Atlantic Ocean. 



Book IV.] EPITOME OF EOMAX HISTOET. 4&1 

very powerful nations, the Cantabrians and Asturians, lay- 
exempt from the dominion of the Eomans. The spirit of the 
Cantabrians was the more mischievous, more haughty, and 
more obstinate in raising war ; for not content with defend- 
ing their liberty, they also attempted to domineer over their 
neighbours, and harassed, with frequent inroads, the Vaccaei, 
the Curgonii, and the Autrigonse. 

Against this people, therefore, as they were said to be pur- 
suing violent measures, an expedition was not committed 
by Augustus to another, but undertaken by himself. He 
advanced to Segisama, where he pitched his camp, and then, 
dividing his army, he inclosed by degrees 1 the whole of 
Campania, and caught the savage people, like wild beasts, as 
with a circle of nets. Nov were they spared on the side of 
the Ocean, where their rear was vigorously assailed by a 
fleet. His first battle against the Cantabrians was under 
the walls of Vellica 3 . Hence they fled to the lofty moun- 
tain Vinnius, which they thought the waters of the Ocean 
would ascend sooner than the arms of the Eomans. In the 
third place, the town of Aracillum made violent resistance - T 
but it was at last taken. At the siege of the mountain 
Medullus, (which he had surrounded with a trench of fif- 
teen miles in length,) when the Eomans pressed forward on 
every side, and the barbarians saw themselves reduced to 
extremity, they eagerly hastened their own deaths at a 
banquet, with fire, sword, and a kind of poison, which is 
there commonly extracted from yew-trees ; and thus the 
greater part escaped the captivity which threatened them. 
Of this success, obtained by his lieutenant-generals An- 
tistius, Furnius, and Agrippa, Cresar received the news 
while wintering on the sea-coast at Tarraco. He himself, 
arriving at the place, brought some of the inhabitants down 
from the mountains, bound others by taking hostages of 
them, and sold others, by right of war, for slaves. The 

1 By degrees] In diem. " From day to day." Perizonius, Freinshemius, and 
Grsevius, would read indidem ; but this, as Duker observes, is superfluous, when 
inde precedes. 

2 OfVellica] All the editions have Belgicce; but there is no place of this 
name known in Spain. Vellicce is the conjecture of Stadius, approved by Gruter, 
Grsevius, and Perizonius. 



422 florus. [Book IV. 

achievement appeared to the senate worthy of the laurel and 
triumphal chariot, but Caasar was now so great that he 
could despise triumphs. 

The Asturians, at the same time, had come down in a 
vast body from their mountains ; nor had they undertaken 
an enterprise rashly, like barbarians, but, having pitched 
their camp at the river Astura, and divided their forces 
into three parts, they prepared to attack three camps of the 
Romans at once. With such brave enemies, coming upon 
us so suddenly and in such order, there would have been a 
doubtful and desperate combat, (and would that I could 
think the loss on both sides would have been equal !) had 
not the Trigsecini betrayed them. Carisius, forewarned by 
the latter people, and coming up with his army, frustrated 
the enemy's designs, though not even thus without blood- 
shed. Lancia, a strong city, received the survivors of the 
routed army. Here there was so fierce an encounter, that 
firebrands were called for to burn the city after it was 
taken, when the general with difficulty prevailed with the 
troops to spare it, " that it might be a monument of the 
Roman victory as it stood, rather than burnt." 

This was the termination of the campaigns of Augustus, 
as well as of rebellion in Spain. The fidelity of the 
Spaniards towards us was afterwards unshaken, and peace 
remained uninterrupted; a consequence resulting as well 
from their own disposition, which was now more inclined 
to tranquillity, as from the management of Caesar, who, 
dreading their confidence in the mountains where they shel- 
tered themselves, ordered them to occupy and inhabit the 
part in which his camp had been, and which was level 
ground. This regulation was noticed as one of great pru- 
dence. The country round about contains gold, and yields 
vermilion, chrysocolla, and other pigments 1 . He accordingly 
ordered the soil to be worked. Thus the Asturians became 

1 Chrysocolla, and other pigments] Chrysocollce, et aliorum colorum. Chry- 
socolla is generally considered to be the same with borax. Good, in his notes on 
Lucretius, vi., 1077, says that it is " a mineral sand, found on the shores of the 
Ked Sea, of an elegant green colour, denominated by the nations of modern times 
tincar or tincaV See Pliny, H. N., xxxiii., 5. Borax is also said to be found 
in great quantities in Thibet. 



Book IV.] EPITOME OF ROMAN HISTORY. 423 

acquainted with their treasures hid in the earth, by search- 
ing for them for others. 

All nations in the west and south being subdued, and all 
to the north between the Rhine and Danube, as well as all 
to the east between the Cyrus and Euphrates, the other 
countries also, which had not fallen under the authority of 
Eome, yet grew sensible of her grandeur, and reverenced a 
people who had conquered so many nations. The Scythians 
and Sarmatians sent ambassadors to us, desiring our friend- 
ship. The Seres, too, and the Indians who live under the 
very sun, coming with jewels and pearls, and bringing also 
elephants among their presents, thought they proved their 
respect to Augustus by nothing so much as the length of 
their journey, which they had taken four years to complete. 
The complexion of the men 1 showed that they came from 
another climate. The Parthians, also, as if they repented of 
their victory, brought back, of their own accord, the stan- 
dards which they had taken on the overthrow of Crassus. 

Thus there was everywhere, throughout the whole world, 
uniform and uninterrupted 3 peace or agreement 3 ; and Caesar 
Augustus, in the seven hundredth year from the foundation 
of the city, ventured to shut the temple of double-faced 
Janus, which had been shut but twice before, in the reign of 
Numa, and when Carthage was first conquered. After- 
wards, applying his thoughts to secure tranquillity, he kept 
in order, by many strict and severe laws, an age which 
was prone to every vice, and plunging fast into luxury. 

1 The complexion of the men, cj'c] Et tamen ipse hominum color, #c. The 
tamen, as Madame Dacier remarks, is worse than useless, giving a ridiculous 
meaning to the sentence. It is wanting in one of Ryckius's manuscripts, and in 
some editions. I have omitted it. 

2 Uniform and uninterrupted] Cuncta atque continua. Cuncta is read in all 
manuscripts and editions, but is, as Grsevius observes, unintelligible. I have 
preferred una, the conjecture of Gronovius. Lipsius had previously suggested 
juncta. 

3 Peace or agreement] Pax — aut pactio. All people were quiet, as having 
either, from being conquered, accepted terms of peace, or consenting to abstain, 
at least for the present, from hostilities. The latter class, as Duker observes, 
were those of whom Floras speaks a little above ; nations who, though not 
actually subdued by the Romans, were sensible of their superiority, and respected 
their power. 



424 floetjs. [Book IV. 

For these great achievements, lie was styled Perpetual 
Dictator, and Father of his Country. It was debated, too, 
in the senate, whether, as he had established the empire, 
he should not also be called Romulus; but the name of 
Augustus was thought more sacred and venerable, in order 
that, while he still lived on earth, he might in name and 
title be ranked among the gods. 






*2* 



YELLEIUS PATERCULUS. 



EEMAESTS OP HIS COMPENDIUM OF THE HISTORY OF HOME, 



BOOK I. 

THE ARGUMENT. 

Cities founded by the Greeks on their return from Troy ; acts of Orestes ; arrival 
of Tyrrhenus in Italy, I. Return of the Heraclidas ; death of Codrus ; found- 
ing of Megara, Gades, and Utica, II. Of the Achseans, Pelasgi, Thessalians, 
and the settlement of Corinth, III. Chalcis, Magnesia, Cumas, Naples, and 
many other cities, founded, IV. Age and character of Homer, V. Of the As- 
syrian empire, Lycurgus, and the origin of Carthage, VI. Of Hesiod, and the 
building of Capua and Nola, VII. The Olympic games ; the founding of Rome, 
VIII. The second Macedonian war, IX. Of Antiochus the Great, and iEmi- 
lius Paulus, X. Pseudo-Philippus ; Metellus Macedonicus, XI. Destruction 
of Corinth and Carthage, XII. Death of Cato; characters of Mummius and 
Scipio Africanus, XIII. Establishment of Roman colonies, XIV., XV. Con- 
siderations why many eminent men, in the several arts, arise at the same time, 
XVI., XVII. Commencement of similar observations on cities, XVIII. 



I. * # # * [Epeus,] being parted 1 by a storm from 
Kestor his commander, built Metapontum^. Teueer, not 
being received at borne by bis father Telamon, for his pusil- 
lanimity in not avenging the injustice sl^vn to his brother 3 , 
sailed to Cyprus, where he built Salamis, a city named after 
his own birthplace. Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles, took 
possession of Epirus, and Phidippus 4 of Ephyra in Thes- 

1 I. [Epeus,] being parted, cj-c] The name is wanting in the text at the 
commencement of this fragment. But it appears from Justin, xx., 2, as well as 
from Aristotle, De Miraculis, that it was Epeus, the builder of the Trojan horse, 
(doll fabricator Epeus, Virg. iEn., ii., 264,) who founded Metapontum. 

2 Metapontum] On the coast of Lucania, in the south of Italy. 

3 His brother] Ajax, who was refused the arms of Achilles. 

4 Phidippus] An inferior leader in the Trojan war, from the isles of Calydnse, 
on the coast of Caria. Horn. II., ii., 678. 



426 YELLEIUS PATERCULTJS. [Book I. 

protia. As to Agamemnon, the king of kings, lie was driven 
by a tempest on the island of Crete, where he founded three 
cities, Mycenae, Tegea, and Pergamus, of which two had 
names from his own country, and the third from the recol- 
lection of his recent victory. Soon after, being entrapped 
by the treachery of his cousin 1 JEgisthus, who bore a here- 
ditary hatred towards him, and by the malice of his wife, he 
was murdered. iEgisthus held the throne for seven years ; 
when Orestes, in concert with his sister Electra, a woman of 
masculine courage, and sharer in all his designs, slew both 
JEgisthus and his own mother. That his deed was approved 
by the gods, was apparent from the length of his life and 
the prosperity of his reign ; for he lived ninety years and 
reigned seventy. He also revenged himself on Pyrrhus, son 
of Achilles, with similar spirit; for Pyrrhus having sup- 
planted him by marrying Hermione, the daughter of Mene- 
laus and Helen, who had been betrothed to Orestes, Orestes 
slew him at Delphi. 

During this period, the brothers Lydus and Tyrrhenus, 
who reigned in Lydia, were compelled, by the unproductive- 
ness of their corn-fields, to cast lots which of the two, taking 
half of the people with him, should quit their country. The 
lot fell upon Tyrrhenus 3 , who, sailing into Italy, gave, from 
his own name, an illustrious and enduring appellation to the 
country, the inhabitants, and the adjacent sea. After the 
death of Orestes, his sons, Penthilus and Tisamenus, reigned 
three years. 

II. At this time, about eighty years after Troy was taken, 
and a hundred and twenty after the translation of Hercules 
to the gods, the family of Pelops, which, after expelling the 
Heraclidse, had held, during the whole of this period, the 
sovereignty of the Peloponnesus, was in turn expelled by 
them. The leaders in recovering the dominion were Teme- 
nus, Cresphontes, and Aristodemus, of whom Hercules was 
great-grandfather. 

About the same period, Athens ceased to be ruled by 
kings, its last monarch being Codrus, the son of Melanthus, 

1 His cousin] Patruelis. He was son of Thyestes, brother of Atreus, Aga- 
memnon's father. 

2 Tyrrhenus] He gave name, it is said, to Tyrrhenia, Tuscia, or Etruria, in 
Italy. The story of his departure from Lydia is taken from Herod., i., 94. 



Book I.] COMPENDIUM OF ROMAN HISTORY. 427 

a man deserving of particular notice ; for when the Spartans 
were severely pressing the Athenians in war, and Apollo 
had given an oracle that that side would be victorious whose 
leader should be killed by the enemy, Codrus, having laid 
aside his royal apparel, put on the attire of a shepherd, and 
went into the midst of the enemy's camp, where, inten- 
tionally provoking a quarrel, he was slain without being 
known 1 . From his death, eternal glory accrued to Codrus, 
and victory to the Athenians. "Who can help admiring a 
man that sought for death with the same stratagems with 
which, by those of meaner spirit, life is wont to be sought ? 
His son Medon was the first archon at Athens ; from whom 
his descendants were called by the Athenians Medontidas ; 
and these, as well as the following archons, down to the 
time of Charops, held their office during life. The Pelo- 
ponnesians, on retiring from the Athenian territory, founded 
Megara, a city equally distant from Corinth and Athens. 

At this time, also, a fleet of the Tyrians, then very power- 
ful at sea, founded the city of Grades, on the remotest coast 
of Spain, at the extremity of one part of the world, and on 
an island surrounded by the Ocean, divided from the conti- 
nent only by a very narrow strait. By the same people, also, 
a few years afterwards, Utica, in Africa, was built. The 
children of Orestes, being expelled by the Heraclidae, and 
harassed by various misfortunes, as well as by hardships at 
sea, found a settlement, in the fifteenth year after their ex- 
pulsion, opposite the island of Lesbos. 

III. During this period Greece was shaken by violent 
commotions. The Achaeans, driven from Laconia, settled in 
those tracts which they now occupy. The Pelasgi removed 
to Athens; and a young man of warlike spirit, by name 
Thessalus, and by birth a Thesprotian, took forcible posses- 
sion, with the aid of a numerous body of his countrymen, of 
that region which is now, from his name, called Thessaly, but 
which was before termed the country of the Myrmidons. 
Hence there is reason to wonder at those authors, who, in their 
accounts of the Trojan period, speak of that country by the 
name of Thessaly ; a fault which not only other writers com- 

1 II. Without being known] Imprudenter. M He was slain by the enemy, not 
being aware that he was the kiDg." Lipsius* 



428 TELLEIUS PATEECULUS. [Book I. 

mit, but writers of tragedy more frequently than any ; though 
in them, least of all, is such licence to be excused, for they 
express nothing in their own character of poets, but narrate 
everything under the persons of those who lived at the time. 
But if any one shall maintain that they were called Thessa- 
lians from Thessalus, the son of Hercules 1 , he will have to 
give a reason why the people did not assume this name till 
the time of the latter Thessalus. A little before this, Aletes, 
sixth in descent from Hercules, and son of Hippotes, rebuilt 3 
Corinth on the Isthmus, which was previously called Ephyre, 
and which forms the principal barrier of the Peloponnesus. 
Nor is there any reason for us to wonder that it was called 
Corinth by Homer ; for, in his character of poet, he calls 
both this city, and some of the Ionian colonies, built long 
after the taking of Troy, by the same names which they bore 
in his own times. 

IV. The Athenians settled colonies at Chalcis and Eretria 
in Euboea ; the Lacedaemonians established another at Mag- 
nesia in Asia. Not long afterwards, the people of Chalcis, 
Who were sprung, as I have just said, from the Athenians, 
founded Cumso in Italy, under the leadership of Hippocles 
and Megasthenes. The course of their fleet was directed, as 
some say, by the flight of a dove that preceded it, or, as 
others state, by the sound of brazen instruments during the 
night, such as is commonly made at the rites of Ceres. Some 
natives of this city, a long time after, built Neapolis ; and 
the exemplary fidelity of both these cities to the Romans, 
renders them eminently worthy of their high reputation, and 
of the delightful situations which they enjoy. But the in- 
stitutions of their original country have been more diligently 
preserved by the Neapolitans ; for the neighbourhood of the 
Osci altered the manners of the people of Cumae. The pre- 
sent extent of the walls of these cities shows the greatness 
of their power in former days. 

At a subsequent period, a vast number of Grecian youth, 
seeking, from a redundance of population, for new settle- 
ments, poured into Asia. The Ionians, sailing from Athens 
under the conduct of Ion, took possession of the finest part 

1 III. Thessalus, the son of Hercules] Father of Phidippus above mentioned. 
Homer, loc. cit. 

2 Rebuilt] Condidit. " Ex integro restituit." Vossius. 



Book I.] COMPENDIUM OF EOMAN HISTORY. 429 

of the sea-coast, now called Ionia, and built the cities of 
Ephesus, Miletus, Colophon, Priene, Lebedus, Myus, Ery- 
thra, Clazonienae, and Phocaea. They also seized on many 
of the islands in the iEgean and Icarian seas, as Sainos, 
Chios, Andros, Tenos, Paros, Delos, and others of less note. 
Soon after, the iEolians also, setting out from Greece, and 
wandering about for a long time, found at length settlements 
not less valuable, and founded some famous cities, as Smyrna, 
Cyme, Larissa, Myrina, and Mitylene, with others in the 
island of Lesbos. 

V. It was at this time that the illustrious genius of 
Homer shone forth ; a genius great beyond example ; for 
by the grandeur of his subjects, and the splendour of his 
verse, he has gained an exclusive right 1 to the name of poet. 
What is most remarkable with respect to him, is, that neither 
was there any one before him whom he could imitate, nor 
has any one since been found who could imitate him. Xor can 
we point to any other author, except Homer and Antilochus, 
who arrived at the highest excellence in the kind of writing 
of which he was the inventor. He lived longer after the 
Trojan war, which he took for his subject, than some sup- 
pose ; for he flourished about nine hundred and fifty years 
ago, and was born within a thousand. It is not at all sur- 
prising, therefore, that he frequently uses the expression 
ofot vvv fipoToL elo-L, such as men now are ; for by this the 
difference in mankind, as well as in ages, is signified. Who- 
ever believes that he was born blind, must be himself de- 
prived of all his senses. 

VI. In the subsequent period, about eight hundred and 
seventy years ago, the empire of Asia was transferred from the 
Assyrians, who had held it a thousand and seventy years, to 
the 3Iedes. For Arbaces, a Mede, dethroned and put to 
death their monarch Sardanapalus, a man immersed in luxu- 
rious gratifications, and courting extravagant pleasures to his 
own destruction ; and who was the thirty-third in succession 
from Mnus and Semiramis, the founders of Babylon, a suc- 
cession so regular that the son had in every instance inherited 
the throne of his father. 

In this age, too, Lycurgus, the Lacedaemonian, a man of 
royal birth, was the author of a most severe and just body 

1 V. An exclusive right, cj-c] Solus appellari jioeta meruit " Xon summus 
modo; splendidum judicium/' Krause. 



430 VELLEITJS PATERCULTJS. [Book I. 

of laws, and of a system of education most suitable 1 to the 
character of his countrymen ; and Sparta, as long as she 
adhered to it, was eminently prosperous. 

During the same period, sixty-five years before the founda- 
tion of Rome, the city of Carthage was built by Elissa of 
Tyre, whom some suppose to be the same as Dido. About 
the same time, Caranus, a man of regal extraction, being the 
sixteenth in descent from Hercules, took his departure from 
Argos, and seized on the kingdom of Macedonia. The great 
Alexander, being the seventeenth in succession from Caranus, 
might justly boast of his lineages, as being on his mother's 
side from Achilles, and on his father's from Hercules 3 . 

VII. Coeval with these events, and separated by about a 
hundred and twenty years from Homer, lived Hesiod, a man 
of exquisite taste, remarkable for the gentle sweetness of his 
numbers, and a great lover of ease and retirement. As he 
was nearest in time to his illustrious predecessor, he was 
also nearest in the reputation of his writings. He avoided 
resembling Homer in one respect, for he has mentioned both 
his country and his parents ; but the former in the bitterest 
terms of reproach, on account of a fine which it had imposed 
upon him. 

While I am treating of foreign matters, a point in our 
own history occurs to me, which has given rise to many mis- 
takes, and about which there is the greatest discrepancy in 
the opinions of writers. Some authors say that, during this 
period, about eight hundred and thirty years ago, Capua and 
JNola were founded by the Tuscans ; and to their opinion I 
readily assent. But how greatly does Marcus Cato differ 
from them, who states that " Capua was first founded by the 
Tuscans, and Nola some time afterwards ; but that Capua 
had stood, before it was taken by the Romans, about two 
hundred and sixty years." If this be the case, and as only 
two hundred and forty years have elapsed since the taking of 

1 VI. System of education most suitable] Discipline convenientissimas \_vir~\. 
I have omitted vir, which, as Euhnken says, "nullo pacto tolerari potest/* 
Heinsius would alter it to virtuti; Euhnken to viribus; and some other critics, as 
Krause signifies, have proposed viris. 

2 At the end of this chapter is inserted, in all the editions, a passage from 
JEmilius (or rather, as Krause thinks, Manilius) Sura. Some person, in old 
times, seems to have written it in the margin of his manuscript, whence it crept 
into the text. I have omitted it. 



Book I.] COMPENDIUM OF EOMAK HISTOBY. 431 

Capua, it can be but five hundred years since it was built. 
For my own part, speaking with deference to the accuracy 
of Cato, I can scarcely believe that so great a city rose, 
flourished, fell, and sprung up again, in so short a space 
of time. 

VIII. The Olympic games, the most celebrated of all 
spectacles of entertainment, and best adapted for invigo- 
rating the mind and the body, had their commencement 
soon afterwards, the founder of them being Iphitus of Elis, 
who instituted these contests, as well as a market, eight 
hundred and four years before you, Marcus Vinicius, en- 
tered upon your consulship. By some, however, Atreus 
is said to have commenced this solemnity, when he exhi- 
bited, in this same place, funeral games in honour of his 
father Pelops, about twelve hundred and fifty years ago, on 
which occasion Hercules was victor in every kind of contest. 
It was at this time that the archons at Athens ceased to 
be elected for life, Alcmseon being the last that was so 
appointed, and were chosen only for ten years ; an arrange- 
ment which lasted for seventy years, when the administration 
was committed to annual magistrates. Of those who held 
office for ten years, the first was Charops, and the last 
Eryxias ; of those who retained it but one year, the first was 
Creon. 

In the sixth Olympiad, twenty-two years from the com- 
mencement of the first, B-omulus, the son of Mars, having 
avenged the wrong done to his grandfather, founded the city 
of Eome on the Palatine hill, on the day of the feast of 
Pales 1 ; from which time, to that of your consulate, is a 
period of seven hundred and eighty-three years. This event 
took place four hundred and thirty-seven years after the 
taking of Troy. The work was effected by Bomulus, with 
the assistance of the Latin legions of his grandfather ; for I 
can readily believe those who give this account, since, without 
such assistance, and with merely a defenceless band of shep- 
herds, he could hardly have established a new city, while the 
Vej entities, the other Etruscans, and the Sabines, were so 
close upon him, how much soever he strengthened it by 
opening an asylum between the two groves. He had a 

1 VIII. Feast of Pales] April 21st. 



432 YELLEIUS PATEKCULUS. [Book I. 

hundred chosen men, called Fathers, as a public council. 
Such origin had the term Patricians 1 . The seizure of the 
Sabine virgins *#*### 

#JJ- db Jfc «S& ■it. "» Ji. _ Jfc 

TP TV TP TP * * ^p 

IX. # # # proved a more powerful enemy 3 than the 
Romans had apprehended; for he maintained a struggle, 
during two years, with such variation of fortune, that he had 
generally the advantage, and drew a great part of Greece 
into alliance with him. Even the Ehodians, who had pre- 
viously been most faithful to the Romans, began, with waver- 
ing allegiance, to watch the turns of fortune, and appeared 
rather inclined to the side of the king. Eumenes, too, in 
this war, was undecided in his views, and acted consistently 
neither with his brother's 3 proceedings at first, nor with his 
own general conduct. At length the senate and people of 
Rome elected to the consulship Lucius iEmilius Paulus, who 
had previously triumphed both as praBtor and consul ; a man 
deserving of the highest honour which merit can be con- 
ceived to attain. He was the son of that Paulus who com- 
menced with such reluctance the battle of Canna3, so fatal to 
the Commonwealth, and who met death in it with so much 
fortitude. He routed Perses, in a great battle, near a city 
named Pydna in Macedonia, and drove him from his camp ; 
and at last, after destroying his troops, forced him to flee 
from his dominions. The king, after quitting Macedonia, 
took refuge in the island of Samothrace, and committed him- 
self, as a suppliant, to the sanctuary of the temple. Cngeus 
Octavius, the praBtor, who had the command of the fleet, 
followed him thither, and prevailed on him, rather by per- 
suasion than by force, to trust himself to the honour of the 
Romans. iEmilius Paulus, in consequence, led this most 
eminent and celebrated prince in triumph. 

In this year, too. were two other famous triumphs ; that 

1 Patricians] Patricii, from patres. Comp. Flor., i., 1. 

2 IX. Proved a more powerful enemy] Here is a great hiatus, all the history of 
Rome being lost from the foundation of the city to the year u.c. 582. The com- 
mencement of the chapter stands thus: .... quam timuerat hostis, expetit. 
Lipsius, for expetit, would substitute extitit, and thinks that the author had 
written something to this effect: Populo Romano gravior, quam timuerat, hostis 
extitit, nempe Perses. See Florus, ii., 12. 

3 His brother's] Attalus. 



Book I.] COMPENDIUM OF EOMAN HISTORY 433 

of Octavius, the naval commander, and that of Anieius, who 
drove before his chariot Grentius the king of the Illyrians. 
How constantly envy attends eminent fortune, and how 
closely it pursues the highest characters, may be understood 
from the following circumstance, that while no one objected 
to the triumphs of Anicius and Octavius, there were some 
who endeavoured to hinder that of Paulus, though it far 
exceeded the others, as well in the greatness of Perses as a 
monarch, as in the magnificent display of war-trophies, and 
the quantity of money carried in it ; as it brought into the 
treasury two hundred thousand sestertia 1 , being beyond com- 
parison more splendid than any triumph that preceded it. 

X. During the same time, while Antiochus Epiphanes., 
who built the Temple of Jupiter at Athens, and who was 
then king of Syria, was besieging Ptolemy the young king 
of Egypt, in Alexandria, Marcus Popilius Lsenas was sent as 
ambassador to him, to require him to desist from the siege. 
Popilius delivered his message, and the king replying that 
he ivould consider of tlie matter, he drew a circle round him 
with a rod upon the sand, desiring him to give a decisive 
answer before he passed that boundary. Soman firmness 
overcame the king's hesitation, and the consul was obeyed. 

Lucius ^Emilius Paulus, who obtained the great victory 
over Perses, had four sons ; of whom he had allowed the two 
eldest to be adopted, one by Publius Scipio, the son of 
Africanus, who retained nothing of his father's greatness 
but the splendour of his name and the force of his eloquence, 
and the other by Fabius Maximus ; the two younger, at the 
time when he gained the victory, he had still at home, as 
being yet under age. Previously to the day of his triumph, 
when, according to ancient usage, he was making a state- 
ment of his services to an assembly without the city, he in- 
treated the immortal gods, that if any of them looked enviously 
on his actions and fortune, they would vent their displeasure 
on himself rather than on the Commonwealth. This expres- 
sion, as if uttered by an oracle, robbed him of a great part 
of his offspring ; for of the two sons whom he had in his 
house, he lost one a few days before his triumph, and the 
other in fewer days after it. 

i Two hundred thousand sestertia] 1,776,041/. 13s. 4d. 

2f 



4*34 VELLEIUS PATEJBCTJLTJS. [Book I. 

About this time occurred the censorship of Pulvius 
Maccus and Posthumius Albinus, which was exercised with 
great severity ; for Cnseus Fulvius, the brother of Fulvius 
the censor, and partner with him in property 1 , was expelled 
from the senate by those very censors. 

XI. Subsequently to the conquest and capture of Perses, 
who died four years afterwards in private custody 2 at Alba, a 
man who, from his false representations concerning his 
birth, was called Pseudo-Philippus, (for he said that his 
name was Philip, and that he was of the royal blood, though 
he was, in reality, of the meanest extraction,) seized the 
government of Macedonia by force of arms, and assumed 
the ensigns of royalty. But he soon paid the penalty of 
his rashness ; for the prsetor Quintus Metellus, who, from 
his merit in war, had received the surname of Macedonicus, 
gained a noble victory over both the impostor and his nation, 
and subdued at the same time, in a great battle, the Achseans 3 
who had recommenced hostilities. This is the Metellus 
Macedonicus who erected the porticos round the two 
temples without an inscription, now encircled by the por- 
ticos of Octavia, and who brought from Macedonia the group 
of equestrian statues that face the front of the temples, and 
form at present the chief ornament of the place. Of this 
group the following origin is related. Alexander the Great, 
it is said, desired Lysippus, an eminent artist in such per- 
formances, to make statues of such horsemen of his own troop 
as had fallen at the river Granicus, representing their like- 
nesses in the figures, and placing one of Alexander himself 
among them. It was this Metellus, too, who first built at 
Rome a temple of marble 4 , among the edifices just mentioned, 
and who was consequently the introducer of what is to be 
called either magnificence or luxury. It would be difficult 

1 X. Partner with him in property] Consors. " Consortes are properly coheirs, 
inheriting a property in common, which they suffer to remain, at least for a time, 
undivided." Burman, 

2 XI. Private custody] Libera custodid. See Sail., Cat., c. 47. 

3 The Achseans] Achceos. That is, the Greeks. The Romans called Greece, 
as their province, Achaia. See Floras, ii., 7. % 

4 A temple of marble] JEdem ex marmore. Burman would take cedem for 
cedes, understanding a private house for Metellus himself; but this, as Krause 
says, is not only invito, Latinitate, but invito, historid; for marble was not used in 
the erection of private houses till a much later period. 



Book I.] COMPENDIUM OE EOMAN HISTORY. 435 

to find, indeed, a man of any nation, age, or rank, whose 
felicity can be compared with that of Metellus ; for besides 
his splendid triumphs, his distinguished honours, his acknow- 
ledged pre-eminence in the state, his long extent of life, and 
his zealous yet harmless contests with opponents for the 
good of his country, he was the father of four sons, whom he 
saw arrive at manhood, and whom he left surviving, and in 
enjoyment of the highest honours. These four sons sup- 
ported his bier before the Rostra, one of them having been 
consul and censor, another consul, the third being consul at 
the time, and the fourth a candidate for the honour, which he 
afterwards obtained. Such an end may rather be called a 
happy retirement from life, than death. 

XII. The whole of Achaia, of which a great part had 
been reduced by the conduct and arms of Metellus, was now, 
as we have said, strongly inclined to hostilities, being insti- 
gated chiefly by the Corinthians, who were guilty even of 
great insults to the Romans ; and to conduct the war against 
them the consul Mummius was chosen. About the same 
time, too, rather because the Romans wished to believe what- 
ever was said against the Carthaginians, than because any- 
thing was said against them worthy of belief, the senate 
resolved on the destruction of Carthage. Accordingly Pub- 
lius Scipio iEmilianus, a man who emulated alike the virtues 
of his grandfather Publius Africanus and his father Lucius 
Paulus ; who, in every qualification for war or peace, was the 
most eminent of his age as well in natural ability as in 
acquired knowledge ; who, through the whole of his life, 
neither did, nor said, nor thought anything but what was 
praiseworthy ; and who, as I have observed, had been adopted 
by Scipio the son of Africanus, was elected consul, though 
at the time he was only candidate for an sedileship. He had 
been previously honoured in Spain with a mural, and in 
Africa with an obsidional crown ; in Spain, also, in conse- 
quence of a challenge, he had, though but of moderate bodily 
strength, slain an antagonist of extraordinary stature ; and 
he now pressed on the war against Carthage, which had been 
conducted for two years by the preceding consuls, with addi- 
tional vigour. This city, which, rather from jealousy of its 
power than from any recent offence, was an object of hatred 
to Rome, he utterly destroyed, and made it as much a monu- 

2f2 



4§p YELLEIT7S PATERCTTLTTS. [Book I. 

ment of his own military prowess as it had previously been 
of his grandfather's clemency. 

Carthage was demolished a hundred and seventy-seven 
years ago, in the consulship of Cnaeus Cornelius Lentulus 
and Lucius Mummius, after having stood six hundred and 
seventy-two years. Such was the end of Carthage, the rival 
of the empire of Rome, with which our forefathers com- 
menced war in the consulate of Claudius and Pulvius, two 
hundred and ninety-six years before you, Marcus Yinicius, 
entered upon your consulship. Thus for a hundred and 
twenty years there subsisted between these two nations 
either war, or preparations for war, or unsettled peace. ISTor 
did Borne, though the whole world were subdued, trust that 
she should be safe while there was left even the name of 
Carthage unremoved. So apt is hatred, arising from con- 
tentions, to continue longer than the fear of danger, and not 
to be laid aside even when the opposite party is vanquished ; 
nor does the object of enmity cease to be detested until it 
has ceased to exist. 

XIII. Three years before Carthage was demolished, Marcus 
Cato, who had been a constant advocate for its destruction, 
died, in the consulship of Lucius Censorinus and Marcus 
Manlius. In the very year in which Carthage fell, Lucius 
Mummius utterly destroyed Corinth, nine hundred and fifty- 
two years after it had been built by Aletes the son of Hippotes. 
Each of the generals was honoured with a name from the 
people whom he conquered, the one being styled Africanus, 
the other Achaicus. No new man 1 , before Mummius, had 
ever assumed a surname derived from military merit. Of 
these two commanders, the dispositions, as well as the pur* 
suits, were entirely different. Scipio was so elegant a culti- 
vator and admirer of liberal studies, and of every kind of 
learning, that he had constantly with him, at home and in 
the field, two men of eminent talents, Polybius and Pana>tius ; 
for no man balanced the fatigues of business with the enjoy- 
ments of leisure more judiciously than Scipio, as he was con- 
stantly studying the arts either of war or of peace, and 
constantly exercising either his body in toil or his mind in 
learning. Mummius, on the contrary, was so extremely 

-istfiil bins hi 

* XIII. New man] See Sail., Cat., c. 23. 



Book I.] COMPENDIUM OP ROMAN HISTORY. 4§$ 

ignorant, that when, on the taking of Corinth, he was hiring 
persons to carry pictures and statues, finished by the hands 
of the greatest masters, into Italy, 'he ordered notice to be 
given to the contractors, that, if they lost any of them, they 
must find new ones. Yet I think you, Yinicius, must be of 
opinion, that it would have been more for the advantage of 
our countrymen that their minds should have remained still 
ignorant of Corinthian elegancies, than that their knowledge 
of them should have reached its present height ; and that 
the ancient ignorance woidd have been more conducive to 
the public honour than our modern skill. 

XIY. As a view of any historical subject, when contracted 
into one continuous narrative, is retained more easily in the 
eye and the memory than when left dispersed in different 
periods, I have determined to introduce between the former 
and latter part of this volume, a summary of particulars on 
a not unimportant subject, and to specify, in this part of my 
work, what colonies, since the capture of Koine by the 
Gauls, have been established by order of the senate, and at 
what times ; for of the military settlements the occasions 
and founders are sufficiently known from their names. "With 
this detail I shall unite, I think without impropriety, an 
account of the enlargement of the state, and the extension 
of the Eoman name, by the communication of its privileges. 

Seven years after the G-auls took the city, the colony of 
Sutrium was settled ; the year after, that of Setia ; and, after 
an interval of nine years, that of Xepe. Two-and-thirty years 
afterwards, the Aricians received the civic franchise. Three 
hundred and sixty-two years ago, in the consulship of Spurius 
Posthumius and Yeturius Calvinus, the freedom of the city, 
but without the right of voting, was given to the Campanians 
and part of the Samnites ; and the same year a colony was 
settled at Cales. Three years afterwards, the people of Fundi 
and Formiae were admitted as citizens, in the very year that 
Alexandria was founded. In the following consulship, when 
Spurius Posthumius and Philo Publilius were censors, the 
civic franchise was granted to Acerra. Three years after- 
wards the colony of Terracina was settled ; four years after- 
wards, that of Luceria ; in four years more, that of Suessa 
Aurunca, and two years later, those of Saticula and Inter- 



438 YELLEITTS PATEECULUS. [Book I. 

amna. Then followed ten years in which nothing of the kind 
occurred; at the end of which time were established the 
colonies of Sora and Alba, and two years afterwards that of 
Carseoli. In the consulate of Quintus Pabius for the fifth 
time, and that of Decius Mus for the fourth time, the year in 
which Pyrrhus began to reign, colonies were sent to Sinuessa 
and Minturnse, and four years afterwards to Yenusia. After 
an interval of two years, in the consulate of Marcus Curius 
and Rufinus Cornelius, the rights of citizenship, but without 
that of voting, were given to the Sabines ; an event which 
took place about three hundred and twenty years ago. 
About three hundred years ago, in the consulship of Pabius 
Dorso and Claudius Canina, colonies were sent to Cosa and 
Paestum, and five years afterwards, in the consulship of Sem- 
pronius Sophus and Appius, the son of Appius Caecus, to 
Ariminum and Beneventum ; and the right of voting was 
then granted to the Sabines. At the commencement of the 
first Punic war, Pirmum and Castrum were occupied with 
colonies, and the following year ^Esernia ; in seventeen years 
afterwards JEsulum and Alsium ; two years later, Pregenaa ; 
in the next year, when Torquatus and Sempronius were con- 
suls, Brundusium ; three years after, in the year when the 
games of Plora commenced, Spoletium. Two years later, 
Valentia was colonised, and, about the time of Hannibal's 
arrival in Italy, Cremona and Placentia, 

XV. Neither while Hannibal remained in Italy, nor for 
several years immediately succeeding his departure, had the 
Romans any opportunities of founding colonies ; for, while 
the war lasted, they were obliged to press soldiers, instead of 
discharging them, and, when it was ended, their strength re- 
quired to be recruited rather than dispersed. However, in the 
consulship of Manlius Volso and Pabius Nobilior, about two 
hundred and seventeen years ago, the colony of Bononia was 
settled, and five years afterwards, those of Pisaurum and Po- 
tentia; in three years more, Aquileia and Gravisca; four years 
later, Luca. During the same period, though some express 
a doubt of it, colonies were sent to Puteoli, Salernum, and Bux- 
entum. One hundred and eighty-seven years ago, a colony 
was sent to Auximum in the Picenian territory ; this took 
place three years before Cassius the censor began to build the 



Book I.] COMPENDIUM OP EOMAST HISTOET. 439 

theatre looking from the Lupercal 1 towards Mount Palatine, 
when the great austerity of manners, and the consul Scipio, 
prevented him 3 from completing it ; an occurrence which I 
number among the most honourable testimonies to the public 
character in those days. In the consulship of Cassius Lon- 
ginus and Sextius Calvinus, (who defeated the Salyes 3 at the 
springs which were from him named Aqum Sextice,) about 
one hundred and fifty-seven years ago, the colony of Fabra- 
teria was settled, and the year after those of Scylacium, 
Minervium, Tarentum, and Neptunia, as well as Carthage in 
Africa 4 , which was, as I have said, the first colony planted 
beyond the bounds of Italy. Concerning Dertona there is 
no certainty ; but INarbo Martius in Graul was settled in the 
consulship of Porcius and Marcius, about a hundred and fifty- 
three years ago. Twenty-three years after was founded 
Eporedia among the Bagienni 5 , when Marius was consul, for 
the sixth time, with Valerius FLaccus. Any colony settled 
since that time, except the military colonies, I am unable to 
recollect. 

XVI. Though this little portion of my work has exceeded 
the limits intended, and though I am sensible that in so hasty 
a composition, which, like a wheel or rapid torrent 6 , allows 
me nowhere to make a stand, I ought rather to omit some 
things that may seem necessary than to introduce any that 
are superfluous, I yet cannot refrain from noticing a point 
on which I have often reflected, and on which I could never 
arrive at any satisfactory conclusion. For who can suffi- 
ciently wonder, that the most eminent geniuses in every art 

1 XV. From the Lupercal] A Lupercali. " The Lupercal was a grotto sacred 
to Pan, near the Palatine mount." Krause. 

2 When the great austerity of manners — prevented him, <£c] There are 
various readings of this passage, but all producing much the same sense. Krause 
reads, Cui (Cassio) id demoliendo — restitere ; that is, " the austerity of 
manners, and Scipio the consul, opposed Cassius by pulling it (the theatre) 
down." 

3 Salyes] A people of Gallia Narbonensis. 

4 Carthage in Africa] A colony was established on the site of the old city 
by the Gracchi, and called Colonia Carthago. 

5 Bagienni] Otherwise called Vagienni, a people of Liguria, near the source of 
the Po. 

6 XVI. Torrent] Gurgitis. The words ac verticis, which follow this, and which 
Ruhnken and Krause think a mere gloss, I have omitted. 



440 YELLEIUS PATERCTJLTTS. [Book I. 

have agreed in one common character, and have fallen within 
one period of time ; and that, as different kinds of animals, 
shut np in a fold or other inclosnre, continue each distinct 
from those around it, and form themselves into separate 
bodies, so minds, capable of any great achievements, have 
formed distinct assemblages about the same time and with 
similar effect ? One age, and that not extending through 
many years, gave lustre to tragedy by the works of those 
great authors, men animated by a, divine spirit, iEschylus, 
Sophocles, and Euripides. One age produced the Ancient 
Comedy, under Cratinus, Aristophanes, and Eupolis. As 
for the New Comedy, Menander, with Philemon and Di- 
philus, his equals in age rather than ability, not only invented 
it within a few years, but left works in it beyond imitation. 
The distinguished philosophers, too, deriving their knowledge 
from the lips of Socrates, in how short a time did they all, 
whom I have a little before enumerated 1 , nourish after the 
death of Plato and Aristotle ! And in oratory what splendour 
was there before Isocrates, or after the death of his hearers and 
their immediate disciples ? So crowded were they into a 
short space of time, that all who were worthy of being remem- 
bered must have been known to each other. 

XVII. Nor has this peculiarity occurred more among the 
Greeks than among the Eomans. Eoman tragedy, unless we 
go back to the rudest and most barbarous efforts, which de- 
serve no praise but as attempts at invention, subsists wholly 
in the writings of Accius and his contemporaries. The 
agreeable sportiveness of Latin humour displayed itself, about 
the same time, in Crecilius, Terence, and Afranius 2 . As for 
the historians, a period of less than eighty years (even if we 
include Livy in the age of the earlier writers) produced them 
all, with the exception of Cato and some old and obscure an- 
nalists. Nor did the assemblage of poets extend further in 
time, either upwards or downwards. With respect to oratory, 

1 Whom I have a little before enumerated] Quos paulo ante enumeravimus. 
In some part of the book which is now lost. 

2 XVII. Caecilius, Terence, and Afranius] Why does he omit Plautus? " I 
must suppose either that the name of Plautus has dropped out of the text, or, 
what seems more probable, that Paterculus entertained the same opinion ot 
Plautus as Horace expresses, De Arte Poetica, 270, and therefore intentionally 
omitted him." Krause. 






Book I.] COMPENDIUM OF ROMAN HISTORY. 441 

forensic pleading, and the perfect beauty'of prose eloquence, 
they burst forth complete (to say nothing of Cato, and to 
speak with due respect for Publius Crassus, Scipio, Lselius, 
the Gracchi, Fannius, and Servius Gralba) under Cicero, who 
was the coryphaeus in his art ; as of all other orators we re- 
ceive pleasure from few, and admire none, except such as 
lived in his time, or immediately succeeded it 1 . That the same 
has been the case with regard to grammarians, statuaries, 
painters, and sculptors 2 , whoever investigates the records of 
ages will easily convince himself, and will see that the most 
eminent performances in every art are confined within very 
narrow limits of time. 

Of this concurrence of similar geniuses in the same period, 
of their corresponding devotion to like pursuits, and their 
equality of progress, I often inquire for the causes, but find 
none that I can regard as satisfactory. Some, however, I 
discover that are probable ; among which are the following. 
Emulation nourishes genius ; and at one time envy, at another 
admiration, kindles a spirit of imitation. Any art, too, which 
is pursued with extreme zeal, will soon reach the height of 
excellence ; and to stand still on the summit is difficult ; as, 
in the natural course of things, what cannot advance, recedes. 
And as we are at first excited with ardour to overtake those 
whom we think our superiors, so, when we once despair of 
surpassing or equalling them, our zeal flags with our hope, 
ceases to pursue what it cannot attain, and, relinquishing that 
object as already pre-occupied, turns to something new. De- 
clining any pursuit in which we cannot arrive at eminence, 
we endeavour to find one that will allow scope for our exer- 
tions ; and the consequence is, that such changes, if frequent 
and unsteady, prove the greatest obstacle to perfection. 

1 Except such as lived in his time, or immediately succeeded it] Neminem — nisi 
aut ah illo visum, aut qui ilium viderit. This is translated according to the inter- 
pretation of Krause. Those who were visi ah illo were his contemporaries, (some of 
them, perhaps, a little his seniors,) with whom he lived, as it were, face to face; 
those qui ilium viderunt were the men of the succeeding generation, who were just 
old enough to have had a sight of him. Thus Ovid says of Virgil, Virgilium 
lantum vidi. 

2 Statuaries — sculptors] Plastis — scalptoribus. Plastes, one that makes figures 
of any soft matter, as clay ; scalptor, or sculptor, one who works with harder 
material, as stone or wood. 



442 TELLEIUS PATEECULUS. [Book I. 

XVIII. Our wonder may well be transferred from ages to 
cities. One city in Attica was distinguished in eloquence for 
a greater number of years, and for more achievements in it, 
than all the rest of Greece ; so that, though the natives of 
that country were dispersed through its different states, we 
might suppose its genius to have been confined entirely within 
the walls of Athens. Nor do I more wonder that this should 
have been the case, than that not a single orator of Argos, 
Thebes, or Lacedsemon, was thought worthy of notice during 
his life, or of remembrance after his death. In such studies, 
these, as well as many other cities, were wholly unproductive, 
except that the single muse of Pindar conferred some degree 
of lustre on Thebes. Alcman 1 the Lacedaemonians falsely 
claim. * * * * 

1 XVIII. Alcman] He was a native of Lydia, and brought to Lacedaemon - 
when very young, as a slave. 



Book II.] COMPESTDITJM 01 ROMAN HISTOET. 443 



BOOK II. 

THE ARGUMENT. 

Declension of Roman virtue after the destruction of Carthage; wars with Viria- 
thus and Numantia, I. Acts and death of Tiberius Gracchus, II., III. Aris- 
tonicns defeated; Numantia overthrown; character and death of Publius 
Scipio, IV. Acts of Aulus Brutus in Spain, V. Proceedings and death of 
Caius Gracchus, VI. Cruelty of Opimius, VII. Narbo Martius founded; 
Cato condemned for extortion ; triumphs of the Metelli and Minutius, VIII. 
Eminent Roman orators and writers, IX. Severity of the censors ; family of 
the Domitii, X. The Jugurthine war ; the acts of Marius, XI., XII. Ill- 
fortune and death of Drusus, XIII., XIV. The colony of Carthage; the 
Italian war, XV., XVL The civic franchise granted to the Italians ; character 
of Sylla, XVII. War with Mithridates commenced ; acts of Sulpicius, XVIII. 
Civil war between Marius and Sylla, XIX. The consul Pompeius murdered by 
the soldiers ; proceedings of Cinna, XX. Cinna succeeds in recalling Marius, 
XXI. Marius's proscription, XXII. Marius's death ; success of Sylla against 
Mithridates, XXIII. Deaths of Fimbria, Lucilius, and Cinna, XXIV. 
Further proceedings of Sylla, XXV., XXVI. Fate of Pontius Telesinus, and of 
the younger Marius, XXVII. SyhVs dictatorship and proscription, XXVIII. 
Character of Pompey, afterwards called the Great, XXIX. Death of Sertorius ; 
triumphs of Metellus and Pompey ; war with Spartacus, XXX. Pompey sup- 
presses the pirates, XXXI. , XXXII. Pompey receives the command of the 
Mithridatic war ; acts of Lucullus, XXXIII. Conquest of Crete ; conspiracy 
of Catiline, XXXIV. Character of Cato ; deaths of Catiline and the other con- 
spirators, XXXV. Augustus Caesar born ; learned men of that age, XXXVI. 
Tigranes surrenders to Pompey, XXXVII. Names of Roman provinces, and 
by whom conquered, XXXVIIL, XXXIX. Pompey conquers Mithridates, and 
triumphs, XL. Descent, character, and actions of Julius Caesar, XLI. — XLIII. 
First Triumvirate ; consulship of Caesar, XLIV. Of Clodius, Cicero, and Cato, 
XLV. Caesar's acts in Gaul; Crassus killed in Parthia, XL VI. Further pro- 
ceedings of Caesar; Clodius slain by Milo, XL VII. Civil war between Caesar 
and Pompey, XL VIII. — LII. Death of Pompey, LIII. Cesar's actions in 
Egypt, Africa, and Spain, LIV., LV. Caesar's triumphs and death, LVL, 
LVII. Proceedings of Brutus and Cicero, LVIII. Opening of Caesar's will; 
family and character of Augustus, LIX. Dissensions and war between Caesar 
and Antony, LX., LXI. Provinces decreed to Brutus and Cassius by the se- 
nate ; Caesar slighted, LXII. Antony joins the army of Lepidus, LXIII. Death 
of Decimus Brutus ; banishment of Cicero, LXIV. The second Triumvirate, 
LXV. Another proscription ; death of Cicero, LXVI. Conduct of the Romans 
at the time of the proscription, LXVII. Of Caelius and Milo ; of the clemency 
of Caesar, LXVI II. Of Dolabella, Vatinius, and the Paedian law, LXLX. 
Proceedings of Brutus and Cassius ; they are slain in the battle of Philippi, 
LXX. Consequences of the battle, LXXL, LXXII. Of Sextus Pompeius, 



444 YELLEIUS PATEKCULTTS. [Book II. 

LXXIII. Of Antony, Caesar, and Livia, LXXIV., LXXV. Of Caius Velleius 
andFulvia; peace between Caesar and Antony, LXXVI. Peace with Sestus 
Pompeius, LXXVII. Antony marries Octavia, Caesar's sister; Labienus over- 
thrown, LXXVIII. War resumed with Sextus Pompeius ; Caesar marries 
Livia, LXXIX. Degradation of Lepidus, LXXX. Caesar suppresses a mutiny 
in the army, LXXXL Antony invades Parthia, LXXXII. Of Plancus, 
LXXXIII. Battle of Actium, and what immediately followed it, LXXXIV.— 
LXXXVI. Death of Antony, LXXXYII. Conspiracy, death, and character of 
Lepidus, LXXXVIII. Caesar's triumphs and plans of government, LXXXIX. 
Reduction of Spain and Dalmatia, XC. Roman ensigns recovered from the 
Partisans, XCI. Of Sentius Saturninus, XCII. Of Marcellus and Agrippa, 
XCIII. Expeditions of Tiberius and Drusus; death of Drusus, XCIV.— 
XCVII. The Thracian war, XCVIIL Tiberius retires to Rhodes, XCIX. 
Hostilities resumed in Parthia and Germany; excesses of Julia, C. Caius 
Caesar in Parthia; his death, CI., CIL Tiberius and Agrippa adopted by 
Augustus, CIIL, CIV. Acts of Tiberius in Germany, CV. — CIX. Insurrec- 
tion in Dalmatia, CX. Proceedings of Tiberius against the Dalmatians and 
Pannonians ; both are subdued, CXI. — CXV. Of some who were distinguished 
in this war, CXVI. Loss of the legions in Germany under Varus, CXVIL 
Of Arminius; death of Varus, CXVIIL, CXIX. Tiberius conducts the 
German war; his triumphs, C XX. — CXXII. Death of Augustus, CXXIII. 
Tiberius succeeds him, CXXIV. Mutiny in Germany and Illyricum suppressed, 
CXXV. Government of Tiberius, CXXVI. Of Sejanus, CXXVIL, CXXVIII. 
Observations on Tiberius, CXXIX., CXXX. Prayer for the prosperity of Rome J 
CXXXI. 

- 

I. The former Scipio had opened for the Romans the way 
to power ; the latter 1 opened that to luxury. For when their 
dread of Carthage was at an end, and their rival in empire 
was removed, the nation, deserting the cause of virtue, went 
over, not gradually, but with precipitation, to that of vice - % 
the old rules of conduct were renounced, and new intro- 
duced; and the people turned themselves from activity to 
slumber, from arms to pleasure, from business to idleness. 
Then it was that Scipio built porticos on the Capitol ; that 
Metellus erected those before mentioned 3 ; and that Cnseus 
Octavius raised that pre-eminently delightful one in the 
Circus ; and private luxury soon followed public magnificence. 

There soon succeeded a lamentable and disgraceful war in 
Spain, conducted by Viriathus, a captain of banditti ; which, 

1 I. The former Scipio — the latter] The former was Scipio Africanus Major, 
the conqueror of Hannibal ; the latter Scipio Africanus Minor, who destroyed 
Carthage and Numantia, and who is mentioned above, i., 15. 

2 Before mentioned] See i., 2. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF ROMAK HISTORY. 445 

though it proceeded with various changes of fortune, was 
oftener adverse than favourable to the Romans. And Viria- 
thus, rather through the treachery than valour of Serviiius 
Caepio, being killed, a still more violent war with Numantia 
burst forth. This city never had under arms more than ten 
thousand of its inhabitants, yet, whether from the obstinacy 
of their spirit, the inexperience of our generals, or the 
caprice of fortune, it compelled both Pompeius, a man of 
great reputation, (the first of the name who held the consul- 
ship,) to sign a treaty of peace on most dishonourable terms, 
and the consul Mancinus Hostilius to make another not less 
mean and disgraceful. Interest secured Pompey from punish- 
ment ; but the modesty of Mancinus, by shrinking from no 
penalty 1 , led to his being surrendered by heralds to the 
enemy, stripped of his robes, and with his hands tied behind 
his back. But the JNuinantines, acting like the people of 
Gaudium in former times, refused to receive him, saying that 
a public violation of faith was not to be expiated by the blood 
of an individual. 

II. This surrender of Mancinus excited violent dissensions 
in the state. Por Tiberius Gracchus, (son of a most illus- 
trious and eminent citizen, and grandson, on his mother's 
side, of Publius Africanus,) who had been quaestor at the 
time, and by whose encouragement that treaty had been 
concluded, was both grievously offended at the annulling of 
it, and entertained apprehensions for himself of a similar 
sentence or punishment ; from which causes, though in his 
other conduct a man of the strictest integrity, endowed with 
the highest abilities, and pure and upright in his intentions, 
in short, adorned with every virtue of which man when per- 
fected both by nature and cultivation is susceptible, he, on 
being appointed tribune of the people in the consulate of Pub- 
lius Mutius Scaevola and Lucius Calpurnius, a hundred and 
sixty-two years ago, deserted the worthy party, and by pro- 
mising the rights of citizens to all the inhabitants of Italy, 
and proposing at the same time agrarian laws, threw all 
things, while all men were eager to secure a footing in the 

1 Shrinking from no penalty, cfc] Non recusando perduxit hue, §c. The text 
is here so obscure that Buhnken says, " Ego nihil hie intelligo," and supposes 
that some words are lost. On Caudium, see Floras, i., 16. 



446 YELLEIXTS PATEECTJLTTS. [Book II. 

state 1 , into the utmost confusion, and brought the Common- 
wealth into imminent danger, of which it was for some time 
doubtful what would be the event. Octavius, one of his 
colleagues, who stood up in defence of the public good, he 
compelled to resign his office, and procured the election of 
himself, his father-in-law Appius, who had been consul, and 
his brother Gracchus, then very young, as commissioners to 
distribute lands, and settle colonies. 

III. On this, Publius Scipio Nasica, grandson of him who 
had been pronounced by the senate the best man in the 
state, son of him who in his censorship had built the por- 
ticos to the Capitol, and great grandson of Cnseus Scipio, a 
man of very illustrious character, uncle of Publius Africa- 
nus ; this Scipio, I say, though not invested with any mili- 
tary or public office, and though he was cousin to Tiberius 
Gracchus, yet, preferring his country to family connexion, 
and considering whatever injured the public as hurtful to 
each individual, (for which merits he was afterwards, in his 
absence, created chief pontiff ; the first instance of the kind,) 
wrapped the lappet of his gown round his left arm, and 
mounted to the upper part of the Capitol ; where, standing 
on the summit of the steps, he called on all that desired the 
safety of the Commonwealth to follow him. Immediately 
the chief of the nobility, the senate, the greater and better 
part of the equestrian body, and such plebeians as were 
unallured by the pernicious views of the Gracchi, rushed 
together against Gracchus, who, with some bands of his par- 
tisans, was standing in the court, haranguing a concourse of 
people from almost every part of Italy. Betaking himself 
to flight, he was struck, as he was running down the descent 
from the Capitol, with a piece of a broken bench, and thus 
prematurely closed a life which he might have passed with 

1 II. Ail men were eager to secure a footing in the state] Omnibus statum 
concupiscentibus. Such is the way in which Krause and Orellius understand this 
phrase. Lipsius said that there was no sense in it, and conjectured omnibus 
(sc. legibus istis agrariis) statum concutientibus, which Gruter and Heinsius 
approved, and Ruhnken admitted into his text. But concupiscentibus seems to 
have been too hastily condemned by these critics. " Statum habere." says Krause, 
" est vel civitatem, vel bona certa, agros scilicet, habere, et sic esse aliquid in 
republica." So, he adds, the proscribed are said, c. 72, nullum statum habere. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OP BOMAK HISTORY. 447 

the greatest honour. This was the commencement of civil 
bloodshed, and of impunity to the sword, in Rome. Hence- 
forward right was oppressed by strength ; the more powerful 
were the more highly esteemed ; disputes between citizens, 
which were formerly settled on amicable terms, were decided 
by the sword ; and wars were undertaken, not for honour- 
able reasons, but from prospects of gain. Nor can this 
excite our wonder; for examples do not stop where they 
begin ; but, if allowed to spread through a channel ever so 
narrow, make way for themselves to any extent ; and, when 
men have once deviated from the right path, they are hurried 
headlong into wrong ; and no one thinks that dishonourable 
to himself which is gainful to another. 

IV. During the course of these transactions in Italy, 
Aristonicus, who, on the death of king Attalus, by whom 
Asia had been bequeathed to the people of Rome, (as Bi- 
thynia was afterwards bequeathed to them by Nicomedes,) 
pretending to be sprung from the royal family, had seized 
the government by force of arms, was conquered, and led in 
triumph by Marcus Perperna, and afterwards put to death 
by Manius Aquilius, for having, at the commencement of 
hostilities, killed the proconsul Crassus Mucianus, a man 
eminent for his knowledge of the law, as he was on his 
journey out of the country. 

After so many defeats experienced at ISTumantia, Publius 
Scipio Africanus iEroilianus, the destroyer of Carthage, being 
elected a second time consul, and sent into Spain, supported 
in that country the character for conduct and success that 
he had acquired in Africa, and within a year and three 
months after his arrival levelled JNumantia, after surrounding 
and shaking it with batteries, to the ground. !N"or did any 
man of any nation, before his time, consecrate his name to 
perpetual remembrance by a more remarkable destruction of 
cities ; for, by-the overthrow of Carthage and Numantia, he 
freed us from the dread of the one, and from the dishonour 
that we suifered from the other. It was this Scipio, who, 
being asked by Carbo, a tribune, what he thought of the 
killing of Tiberius Gracchus, replied, that if he had any 
thought of usurping the government, he was justly slain ; 
and, when the whole assembly cried out against him, he ex- 
claimed, " After having so often heard, without fear, the 



448 VELLEIUS PATEECULUS. [Book II. 

shouts of armed enemies, how can I be alarmed at the cries 
of such as you, to whom Italy is but a stepmother 1 ?" 

Returning, from a short absence, into the city, in the con- 
sulate of Manius Aquilius and Caius Sempronius, a hundred 
and fifty-eight years ago, after his two consulships and two 
triumphs, and after having removed two objects of terror to 
his country, he was found one morning dead in his bed, and 
marks of strangulation were observed on his neck. Yet 
concerning the death of so great a man no inquiry was 
made ; and the body of him by whose services Rome had 
raised her head above the world, was carried to its burial- 
place with the head veiled 2 . Whether he died a natural 
death, as most people think, or came to his end, as some 
have asserted, by treachery, he certainly passed a life of such 
honour that it is eclipsed by none before his time except that 
of his grandfather. He died at about fifty-four y^ars of 
age. If any one questions this, let him look back to Scipio's 
first consulship, to which he was elected at the age of thirty- 
six, and doubt no more. 

V. Before the destruction of jSTumantia, the military 
efforts of Decimus Brutus in Spain had been remarkable ; 
so that, having made his way through all the nations of that 
country, subdued vast multitudes of men, and a great number 
of cities, and visited places of which the names had scarcely 
been heard, he merited the surname of Gallgecus. A few 
years before him, military obedience, under Quintus Mace- 
donicus, was enforced in that country with such severity 
that, while he was besieging a city named Contrebia, he 
ordered five legionary cohorts, which had been repulsed in 
an attack on a very steep place, to mount it again immedi- 
ately. Though all the soldiers made their wills in prepara- 
tion for action, as if going to certain destruction, the obsti- 
nate general was not deterred from his purpose, and saw his 
men return with victory, whom he had sent out in expecta- 

1 IV. To whom Italy is but a stepmother] Quorum noverca est Italia. The 
idle and dissolute crowd that wandered about the city, many of whom were not 
natives of the country, were not considered or valued by Italy as her children, but 
regarded by her with the disdain of a stepmother. The origin of the expression, 
as Wesseling pointed out, is in Plato's Menexenus. Comp. Val. Max., vi., 2, 3. 

2 With the head veiled] Velato capite. " Obvoluto capite elatus est, ne livor 
in ore appareret." Aurel. Vict., 58. This seems to have been customary. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF BOMAtf HISTOEY. 449 

tion of death. So great was the effect of shame blended 
with fear, and of hope springing from despair. He gained 
much credit for courage and strictness ; but Fabius JEmiKa- 
nus showed in Spain the most noble example of discipline. 

VI. After an interval of ten years, the same rage which 
had animated Tiberius Gracchus, seized his brother Caius, 
who, resembling him in all his virtues as well as in his want 
of judgment, was in abilities and eloquence far his superior ; 
and who, though he might, without the least anxiety of 
mind, have become the very first man in the state, yet, 
prompted by a desire either of revenging his brother's 
death, or of preparing a way for himself to regal power, he 
entered on a tribuneship of similar character to that of his 
brother, forming projects, however, much more extensive 
and influential. He designed to extend the civic franchise 
to all the Italians, as far almost as the Alps ; to divide the 
lands, and to prohibit every citizen from possessing more 
than five hundred acres ; a restriction which had once been 
enjoined by the Licinian law. He likewise wished to lay 
new taxes on imported goods, to fill the provinces with new 
colonies, to transfer the privilege of being judges 1 from the 
senators to the knights, and to distribute corn to the popu- 
lace ; in short, he was resolved to leave nothing quiet and 
undisturbed, nothing in the condition in which he found it. 
He even procured himself to be re-elected tribune. But the 
consul Lucius Opimius, who in his praetorship had demo- 
lished Fregellae, attacked him with an armed force, and put 
him to death, and together with him Fulvius Flaccus, a man 
who had been consul, and had triumphed, but was equally 
inclined to noxious measures ; and whom Caius Gracchus 
had nominated a commissioner in the room of his brother 
Tiberias, and associated with himself to be a sharer in his 
king-like power. One particular in Opimius's conduct is 
mentioned deserving of reprobation, namely, that he offered 
a reward for the head, not merely of Gracchus, but of any 
turbulent Roman citizen, promising its weight in gold. 
Ilaccus, while he was collecting a party in arms on the 
Aventine, with intent to make resistance, was killed, together 

1 VI. To transfer the privilege of being judges, $c.~\ See Pseudo-Sallust, 
first Epistle to Caesar, e. 3, 8. 



450 TELLEITJS PATEBCTTLTJS. [Book II. 

with his elder son; Gracchus, attempting to escape, and 
being nearly overtaken by a party sent by Opimius, held out 
his neck to Euporus his slave, who slew himself with the 
same fortitude with which he relieved his master. Pompo- 
nius, a Eoman knight, showed on that day a singular degree 
of attachment to Gracchus ; for, like Codes, he withstood 
his enemies on the bridge, and then run himself through with 
his sword. The body of Caius Gracchus, with great barba- 
rity on the part of the victors, was thrown into the Tiber, as 
had previously been the case with that of Tiberius. 

VII. Such was the latter part of the lives, and such the 
deaths, of the sons of Tiberius Gracchus, the grandsons of 
Publius Scipio Africanus, men who made a bad use of the 
best talents, and who died while their mother, the daughter 
of Africanus, was still alive. Had these men fixed their 
desires on any degree of eminence compatible with civil 
liberty, (whatever it was that they sought to gain by their tur- 
bulent proceedings,) the public would have granted it without 
an effort on their part. To the severity before mentioned, 
was added an act of unparalleled barbarity. A youth of 
uncommon beauty, in the eighteenth year of his age, son of 
Eulvius Elaccus, but innocent of his father's offences, being 
sent to negotiate terms of accommodation, was ordered to be 
put to death by Opimius. A Tuscan soothsayer, his Mend, 
seeing the lad weep as he was dragged to prison, said to him, 
" "Why do you not rather act thus ?" And immediately dash- 
ing his head against a stone pillar at the prison-door, beat out 
his brains, and expired. 

Examinations of the friends and clients of the Gracchi 
were soon after held, and with great severity. Hence, when 
Opimius, who, in other matters was upright and respected, 
was afterwards condemned on a trial before the people, no 
commiseration was shown him by his countrymen, through 
their recollection of his former want of feeling. The same 
general odium afterwards deservedly crushed, under trials 
before the people, Eutilius and Popillius, who, being consuls 
at the time, had acted cruelly towards the friends of Tiberius 
Gracchus. Amongst affairs of such importance I shall men- 
tion one of which the knowledge is of little consequence. 
This is the Opimius, from whom, when he was consul, the 
celebrated Opimian wine was named. That there is none of 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF BOMAST HISTORY. 451 

it at present may be inferred from the distance of time, for 
between bis consulate and yours, Marcus Vinicius, a hundred 
and fifty-one years have elapsed. The conduct of Opimius 
met the less approbation, because his object was revenge 
from personal enmity ; and his severity seemed to have been 
inflicted to satisfy, not public justice, but private hatred. 

VIII. [Soon after, in the consulate of Marcius and Por- 
cius, the colony of Narbo Marcius was settled 1 .] Let the 
strictness of judicial proceedings in those times be here 
recorded. Caius Cato, who had been consul, and who was 
grandson of Marcus Cato, and son of the sister of Africanus, 
was convicted of extortion committed in Macedonia, and 
fined eighteen sestertia 2 ; for judges then considered the in- 
clination of the man to dishonesty rather than the magni- 
tude of the offence, and estimated deeds, in general, by in- 
tention, regarding rather what had been done than to how 
great an extent. About the same time, the two Metelli, 
brothers, triumphed on one day. Another instance of dis- 
tinction not less honourable, and hitherto unparalleled, was, 
that two sons of Fulvius Elaccus, him who had taken Capua, 
were joined together in the consulship. One of them indeed 
had been adopted, and received into the family of Manlius 
Acidinus. As to the two Metelli, who were censors together, 
they were cousins-german, not brothers ; the circumstance 
of two full brothers being united in office fell to the lot of 
none but the Scipios 3 . At this time the Cimbri and Teutones 
came across the Rhine, and soon made themselves notorious 
by the calamities that they brought on us and on themselves. 
At the same time, there was celebrated a brilliant triumph 
of Minucius, him who built the porticos now so much ad- 
mired, over the Scordisci. 

IX. During this period flourished those eminent orators 
Scipio jEmilianus, Lselius, Servius Gralba, the two Gracchi, 
Caius Fannius, Papirius Carbo, and, above all, Lucius Crassus 
and Marcus Antonius. Nor must we omit Metellus Numi- 
dicus, or Scaurus. These, in time as well as genius, were 

i VIII. The sentence inclosed in brackets is evidently out of place, as Burman 
and Kranse remark. 

2 Eighteen sestertia] About 159?. 7s. 6d. 

s The Scipios] The office in which the Scipios were united was the aBdileship, 
as Krause says, who supposes that some words to that effect have been lost out of 
the text. 

2<*2 



452 TELLEIUS PATEECULUS. [Book II. 

followed by Caius Caesar Strabo and Publius Sulpicius. As 
to Quintus Mucins, lie was more noted for bis knowledge of 
the law than for eloquence. During the same age appeared 
the bright genius of Afranius in comedy, and those of Pacu- 
vius and Attius in tragedy ; geniuses who rise into competi- 
tion with the spirit of the Greeks. Then were displayed, 
too, the powers of Ennius 1 , who claims for his works an 
honourable place with theirs ; for, though they wrote with 
more correctness, he seems to have had the greater share of 
energy. A distinguished name was likewise acquired by 
Lucilius, who in the jNumantine war had served in the 
cavalry under Publius Africanus. At the same time Ju- 
gurtha and Marius, then both young, learned in the same 

• camp under Africanus that skill which they were afterwards 
to practise in opposite camps. Sisenna the historian was 
then young, but some years after, at a more advanced age, 
published his history of the civil wars, and those of Sylla. 
Ccelius was prior to Sisenna : coeval with him were Bntilius, 
Claudius Quadrigarius, and Valerius Antias. We must not, 
however, forget that Pomponius lived in this age, a writer 
admired for his thoughts, though rude in language, and 
chiefly deserving notice for the novelty of what he invented 2 . 
X. Let us here record a severe act of the censors Cassius 
Longinus and Caepio, who, a hundred and fifty-five years ago, 

. summoned before them an augur, JEmilius Lepidus, because 
h^ rented a house at six sestertia 3 . At present, if any person 
lived at so low a rent, he would scarcely be acknowledged as 
a senator : so soon do people proceed from the reasonable to 
the unreasonable, from the unreasonable to the vicious, from 
the vicious to the extravagant. During this period a re- 
markable victory was gained by Domitius over the Arverni, 
and another by Pabius over the Allobroges. Fabius, who 
was grandson of Paulus, acquired from his success the sur- 
name of Allobrogicus. Here we may observe a peculiar 

'kind of happiness attending the Domitian family, which was 

1 IX. Of Ennius] The name of Ennius has been supplied in the texts of 
Euhnken and Krause from a conjecture of Heinsius. 

2 What he invented] He was an eminent writer of the Falulce Atellance, but 
not the inventor of that kind of composition. But perhaps he was the first that 
gave them any regularity of form. 

"3 X. Six sestertia] About 53?. 2s. 6d. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF EOMAN HISTOBY. 453 

highly distinguished, though confined to a small number. 
Before the present Cnseus Domitius, a youth of most re- 
markable goodness of disposition, there were seven of that 
family, the only sons of their respective parents, who all 
arrived at the consulship and priesthood, and almost all at 
the honours of a triumph. 

XI. The Jugurthine war was then conducted by Quintus 
Metellus, a commander inferior to no one of the age. Under 
him acted, as lieutenant-general, Caius Marius, whom we- 
mentioned above, a man of mean birth, coarse and rough in 
his manners, but of strict temperance 1 , who, in proportion as 
he was excellent in war, was fatal to peace. He was immo- 
derately eager for glory, his ambition was insatiable, his pas- 
sions ungovernable, so that he, was never at rest. By dis- 
seminating, through farmers of' the revenue, and others who 
traded in Africa, insinuations against Metellus, as being 
dilatory in his operations, and purposely protracting the war 
to the third year, as well as invectives against the natural 
pride of the nobles, and their ambition to continue in posts 
of power, he succeeded, after obtaining leave of absence to 
come to Borne, in procuring his election to the consulship, 
and getting the management of the war, now nearly termi- 
nated by Metellus, who had twice routed Jugurtha in the 
field, intrusted to himself. Nevertheless, the triumph of 
Metellus was exceedingly magnificent, and the surname of 
Numidicus, which he had well earned by his merits in the 
field, was conferred upon him. As we previously noticed 
the splendid fortune of the Domitian family, we may here 
mention that of the Csecilian, for within about twelve years 
of this time there were above twelve Metelli either consuls 
or censors, or who enjoyed triumphs. Hence it would ap- 
pear that the fortune of families, like that of cities and 
empires, flourishes, fades, and decays. 

XII. Caius Marius, at this early time, had Lucius Sylla 
connected with him in quality of quaestor, as if from some 
precaution of the fates 2 , and having sent him ambassador to 

1 XI. Of strict temperance] Vita sanctus. This is, as Krause observes, evi- 
dently the sense. So Crassus, in c. 46, is said to be sanctissimus immunisque 
voluptatibus, Marius is called by Sallust, Jug., c. 63, lubidinis atque divitiarum 
victor. 

2 XII. From some precaution of the fates] Ut prcecaventibus fatis. As if the- 



454 VELLEITJS PATERCTTLTTS. [Book II. 

king Bocehus, received, through his means, king Jugurtha 
as a prisoner; an event which took place a hundred and 
thirty-eight years ago. Being elected consul a second time, 
and returning to Eome, he led Jugurtha in triumph on the 
first of January, the day on which his second consulship 
commenced. As the overwhelming force of the German 
tribes, the Cimbri and Teutones mentioned above, had van- 
quished and put to flight in Gaul the consuls Caepio and 
Manlius, as well as Carbo and Silanus previously, and had dis- 
persed their armies, and killed Aurelius Scaurus the consul, 
as well as other leaders of great reputation, the Eoman 
people deemed that no commander was better qualified than 
Marius to repel such formidable enemies. Thenceforward 
consulships multiplied on him. His third was spent in pre- 
parations for the war, and in the same year Cnseus Domitius, 
a tribune of the people, got a law passed, that the people 
should appoint priests, who were formerly elected by the 
sacerdotal body. In his fourth he engaged the Teutones, at 
Aqua Sextice, beyond the Alps, and in two successive days 
slew a hundred and fifty thousand of them, and utterly re- 
duced their nation. In his fifth, he himself, and the pro- 
consul Quintus Lutatius Catulus, met the Cimbri on what 
are called the Baudian plains, on this side of the Alps, and 
put an end to the war by a most successful battle, killing or 
taking above a hundred thousand men. By these victories 
Marius seems to have deserved that his country should not 
regret his birth ; and to have made amends by his services 
for the evils that he brought upon it. The sixth was con- 
ferred on him as a reward for his merits. Yet must not 
this consulship be defrauded of its due share of praise, for, 
during the course of it, the consul repressed, with an armed 
force, the excesses of Servilius, Glaucia, and Saturninus 
Apuleius, who, maintaining themselves in office, were inflict- 
ing deep wounds on the constitution, and dispersing the 
assemblies of the people with violence and bloodshed ; and 
he at last put those pestilent disturbers to death in the 
Curia Hostilia 1 . 
XIII. At the end of a few succeeding years, Marcus 

fates, by uniting them together at this time, had been anxious to prevent the 
discord that afterwards raged between them. Krause. 

1 Curiae were houses of assembly for the wards (curiae) of the city. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF ROMAN HISTORY. 455 

Livius Drusus entered on the office of tribune ; a man of the 
noblest birth, the greatest eloquence, and the strictest purity 
of life ; but who, in all his undertakings, was more distin- 
guished by ability and good intention than by success. He 
formed a design of restoring to the senate its ancient dig- 
nity, and of transferring from the knights to that body the 
right of being judges ; because when the knights, by the 
Sempronian laws, were invested with that authority, they 
had treated with cruel severity many of the most illustrious 
and most innocent citizens ; and in particular had brought to 
trial for extortion Publius Rutilius, a man distinguished for 
virtue not only above his own, but above any age, and, to the 
exceeding great grief of the public, had condemned him to 
pay a penalty. But in those very efforts which he made in fa- 
vour of the senate, he found the senate itself opposed to him. 
Tor they did not perceive that whatever he brought forward 
in favour of the plebeians was intended to allure and attract 
the multitude, in order that, being gratified in smaller mat- 
ters, they might consent to others of greater importance. 
Such, indeed, was the fate of Drusus, that the senate favoured 
the injurious proceedings of his colleagues more than his 
own excellent designs, rejecting with scorn the honour 
offered by him, while they submitted patiently to the wrong 
done them by the others ; looking, in short, with envy on 
his very exalted reputation, and with indulgence on the mean 
characters of his opponents. 

XIV. When such well-intended plans were badly received, 
the purpose of Drusus was changed, and he resolved to ex- 
tend the civic franchise to all Italy. As he was taking mea- 
sures for this purpose, on coming home one day from the 
forum, surrounded by the immense disorderly crowd that 
constantly attended him, he was stabbed in the court-yard of 
his own house with a knife, which was left sticking in his 
side, and within a few hours expired. While he was draw- 
ing almost his last breath, he uttered an expression, as 
he looked on the crowd standing round and lamenting over 
him, very consonant to his inward feelings. " My relations 
and friends," said he, " will the Commonwealth ever again 
have a citizen like me ?" Thus ended the life of this illus- 
trious man. One incident which marks the goodness of his 
disposition must not be omitted. When he was building a 



456 YELLEIUS PATERCTJLUS. [Book II. 

house on the Palatine Mount, on the spot where that stands 
which formerly was Cicero's, afterwards Censorinus's, and now 
belongs to Statilius Sisenna, and the architect offered to con- 
struct it in such a manner, that it would be proof against all 
overlookers, no one being able even to cast a glance into it, 
" Bather," replied he, " if you have such skill, construct my 
house in such a manner, that whatever I do mav be seen 
by aH." 

XV. [Among the most pernicious measures introduced 
by the laws of Gracchus, I reckon the planting of colonies 
out of Italy. Such a proceeding our ancestors had so care- 
fully avoided, (because they saw Carthage so much more 
powerful than its mother city Tyre ; Marseilles than Phocaea ; 
Syracuse than Corinth ; Cyzicus and Byzantium than Mile- 
tus,) that they even called home Bom an citizens from the 
provinces to be registered by the censors in Italy. The 
first colony planted beyond the limits of Italy was Carthage 1 .] 
The death of Drusus hastened the breaking out of the Ita- 
lian war, which had been gathering to a head during a con- 
siderable time before ; for in the consulate of Lucius Caesar 
and Publius Butilius, a hundred and twenty years from the 
present, all Italy took arms against the Romans. This un- 
fortunate insurrection had its origin among the people of 
Asculum, (who killed Servius a praetor, and Fonteius a lieu- 
tenant-general,) and from them it soon spread to the Mar- 
sians, and diffused itself through every quarter of the coun- 
try. As the subsequent sufferings of those people were very 
severe, so were their demands extremely just ; for they 
claimed the privileges of a country, whose power they sup- 
ported by their arms ; every year, and for every war, they 
furnished a double number of men, both horse and foot, and 
yet were not admitted to the privileges of the state, which, by 
their services, had arrived at that very eminence from which 
it looked down with disdain on men of the same nation and 
blood, as aliens and foreigners. This war carried off above 
three hundred thousand of the flower of Italy. The Roman 
generals most distinguished in it were, Cnaeus Pompey, 
father of Cnaeus Pompey the Great ; Caius Marius before 

1 XV. The words inclosed in brackets are entirely out of place, like those at 
the beginning of c. 8. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF EOMAN HISTOBY. 457 

mentioned ; Lucius Sylla, who was praetor in the preceding- 
year ; and Quintus Metellus, son of Numidicus, who de- 
servedly obtained the surname of Pius : for when his father 
was banished by Lucius Saturninus, a tribune of the people, 
because he alone refused to swear obedience to his laws, the 
son, by his dutiful exertions, and with the sanction of the 
senate, and the approbation of the Roman people, procured 
his recal. So that Numidicus was not more honoured by his 
triumphs and distinctions than by the cause of his exile, the 
exile itself, and his return from it. 

XVI. The most remarkable leaders of the Italians were 
Silo Popsedius, Herius Asinius, Insteius Cato, Caius Ponti- 
dius, Telesinus Pontius, Marius Egnatius, and Papius Muti- 
lus. JNor shall I, through mistaken modesty, withhold any 
part of the praise due to my own family, while I relate only 
the truth ; for much honour ought to be paid to the memory 
of Minatius Magius of iEculanum, my ancestor in the 
fourth degree. He was grandson of Decius Magius, (a man 
of high distinction and trust among the Campanians,) and 
displayed in this war such a faithful attachment to the Ro- 
mans, that, with a legion which he himself had raised among 
the Hirpinians, he, in conjunction with Titus Didius, took 
Herculaneum, and with Lucius Sylla besieged Pompeii, 
and gained possession of Compsa. His virtues have been 
celebrated by several writers, but by Hortensius, in his 
Annals, more fully and clearly than by any other. The 
Roman people amply recompensed his fidelity, by voting him 
a citizen with peculiar distinction, and electing his two sons 
praetors, at a time when only six were elected. So variable 
and alarming was the fortune of the Italian war, that in the 
course of two successive years two Roman consuls, first 
Rutilius and afterwards Porcius Cato, were slain by the 
enemy, and the armies of the Roman people discomfited in 
several places, so that a general assumption of the military 
dress 1 took place, and was long continued. The enemy chose 
for their seat of government the city of Corfinium, which 

1 XVI. Assumption of the military dress] Ad saga iretur. " Livy, Epit. lxxii., 
says, with reference to these times, saga populus sumpsit. This military garment, 
the sagum, the Romans assumed, by a decree of the senate, in the most alarming 
wars, and retained it till better fortune appeared, when they returned to the toga. 
Compare Liy., Epit. lxxiv. ; Cic, Phil., xiv., 1." Krause. 



458 TELLEIUS PATERCULXTS. [Book II. 

they named Italicum. The strength of the Eomans was 
afterwards recruited, though slowly, by admitting into citi- 
zenship such as either had not taken arms, or had laid them 
down early, while the exertions of Pompey, Sylla, and Marius, 
revived the energy of the government when it was debili- 
tated and ready to sink. 

XVII. An end being now nearly put, except where the 
remains of hostility continued at N ola, to the Italian war, 
(the result of which was that the Eomans, themselves ex- 
hausted, consented to grant the privilege of citizenship to 
certain states that were vanquished and reduced, rather 
than to the whole when flourishing in unimpaired strength,) 
Quintus Pompeius and Lucius Cornelius Sylla entered upon 
their consulship. Sylla was a man, who, before he had sub- 
dued his competitors, could not be sufficiently commended, 
nor afterwards too severely censured. He was of a noble 
family, being the sixth in descent from Cornelius Eufinus, 
one of the most celebrated leaders in the war with Pyrrhus ; 
but as the lustre of the family had been for some time ob- 
scured, he conducted himself, through a great part of his life, 
in such a manner, that he seemed to have no thought of 
standing for the consulship. However, after his praetor ship, 
having acquired great reputation in the Italian war, (such as 
he had before gained when lieutenant-general under Marius in 
Gaul, where he defeated some of the enemy's most eminent 
commanders,) he assumed courage from success, and be- 
coming a candidate for the consulship, was elected by the 
almost universal suffrage of his countrymen. When he 
attained this honour, he was in the forty-ninth year of his 
age. 

XVIII. About this time Mithridates king of Pontus, a 
prince who must neither be passed without notice, nor 
be slightly mentioned; a man most active in war, pre- 
eminent in courage, distinguished sometimes by success and 
always by spirit ; in council a general, in action a soldier, and 
in hatred to the Eomans another Hannibal, took forcible 
possession of Asia, and put to death all the Eoman citizens 
that were in it, whom, by sending letters to the different 
states, filled with promises of great rewards, he procured to 
be slain on the same day and hour. At this crisis no people 
equalled the Ehodians, either in resolute exertions against 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF EOMA1ST HISTORY. 459 

Mithridates, or in firm attachment to the Eomans ; and a 
lustre was thrown on their fidelity by the perfidy of the 
Mitylenseans, who gave up in chains to Mitkridates, Manius 
AquiUius and several others ; and yet to these very Mity- 
lenseans liberty was afterwards granted by Pompey, merely 
to gratify Theophanes 1 . Mitkridates, now becoming for- 
midable, seemed to threaten even Italy, when the province 
of Asia fell to the lot of Sylla. After leaving Eome, he 
stayed some time in the neighbourhood of Nola ; (for that 
city, as if repenting of the fidelity to us, which it had 
saeredly maintained during the Punic war, continued in 
arms with persevering obstinacy, and was then besieged by 
a Eoman army ;) during which interval, Publius Sulpicius, a 
tribune of the people, an eloquent and active man, distin- 
guished for wealth, interest, the number of his friends, and 
the vigour of his understanding and character, (who, though 
he had formerly, with the best apparent intentions, obtained 
from the people the highest office in the state, yet after- 
wards, as if he repented of his virtues, and as if his good 
resolutions were profitless, grew suddenly vicious and vio- 
lent, and attached himself to Marius, who, at the end of his 
seventieth year, was still coveting every command and every 
province,) this man, I say, now proposed a law to the 
people, by which Sylla' s commission was annulled, and the 
conduct of the Mithridatic war decreed to Marius ; to which 
he added other laws of pernicious and fatal tendency, such 
as could not be endured in a free state. He even, by means 
of some emissaries of his faction, put to death a son of 
the consul Quintus Pompeius, who was also son-in-law of 
Sylla. 

XIX. On this, Sylla, having collected a body of troops, 
and returned to the city, took possession of it by force of 
arms, and expelled twelve promoters of these new and per- 
nicious measures, among whom were Marius, his son, and 
Publius Sulpicius ; at the same time procuring a law to be 
passed declaring them exiles. As for Sulpicius, some horse- 
men overtaking him in the Laurentine marshes, put him to 
death ; and his head, being elevated and displayed on the 

1 XVUI. Theophanes] A native of Mitylene, and friend of Pompey, of whose 
acts he wrote a history. 



460 VELLEIUS PATEECTJLUS. [Book II. 

Rostrum, was an omen, as it were, of the approaching pro- 
scription, Marius, after his sixth consulship and his seven- 
tieth year, being found naked, and covered with mud, with 
only his eyes and nose above the surface, among the reeds 
at the margin of the lake of Marica, where he had concealed 
himself to escape the pursuit of Syria's horsemen, was taken 
out, and, with a cord about his neck, dragged to the prison 
of Minturnse, by order of one of the two colonial magis- 
trates. A public servant, by nation a German, who hap- 
pened to have been taken prisoner by Marius in the Cim- 
brian war, was sent with a sword to despatch him ; but no 
sooner did he recognise Marius, than, with a loud outcry, 
showing how much he was shocked at the fall of so great a 
man, he threw away the weapon, and hurried out of the 
prison. His countrymen, thus taught by a barbarian 1 to 
commiserate the man who was recently at their head, sup- 
plied him with clothes and provision for a voyage, and put 
him on board a ship. Having overtaken his son near the 
island of iEnaria, he steered his course to Africa, where, in 
a hut among the ruins of Carthage, he lived in a state of 
indigence. Here, while Marius viewed Carthage, and Car- 
thage contemplated him, they might afford consolation to 
each other. 

XX. In this year the hands of the soldiers were first 
stained with the blood of a Eoman consul. Quintus Pom- 
peius, Sylla's colleague, was slain by the troops of Cnseus 
Pompey the proconsul, in a mutiny which their leader had 
himself excited. # * * * 

Cinna showed no more moderation than Marius and Sul- 
picius; for although the citizenship of Eome had been 
granted to Italy, on the understanding that the new mem- 
bers should be included in eight new tribes, (lest otherwise 
their power and numbers might detract from the dignity of 
the original citizens, and the receivers of the kindness be 
more powerful than their benefactors,) he now promised that 
he would distribute them through all the tribes. With this 
object in view, he had drawn together into the city a vast 
multitude from all parts of Italy. But he was driven out of 

1 XIX. By a barbarian] Abhoste. "Abarbaro." Krause. Hostis, as opposed 
to civis. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM 01? SOMAN HISTOBY. 461 

Eoine by the power of his colleague and of the nobles ; and, 
while he was on his way to Campania, the consulship was 
taken from him by a vote of the senate, and Lucius Corne- 
lius Merula, flamen of Jupiter, was appointed in his place ; 
an illegal proceeding, better suited to the demerits of the 
man, than for a precedent. Cinna, after first bribing the 
tribunes and centurions, and then gaining over the soldiers 
by promises of largesses, was received as leader by the army 
at Nola, and when all the troops had sworn obedience to him, 
he, retaining the ensigns of consul, turned their arms against 
his country ; depending chiefly, however, on the vast number 
of the new citizens, of whom he had enlisted above three 
hundred cohorts, and filled up the complement of thirty 
legions. His party stood in need of men of character and 
influence ; and, to add to these, he recalled from exile Caius 
Marius, his son, and the others who had been banished with 
them. 

XXI. While Cinna was making war on his country, Cnseus 
Pompeius, father of Pompey the Great, (who had done emi- 
nent service to the state in the Marsian war, especially in 
the Picenian territory, and had taken Asculum, near which 
city, while the troops were dispersed in various other parts, 
seventy-five Eoman citizens, in one day, maintained a con- 
flict with more than sixty thousand Italians,) had become, 
from being disappointed of another consulship, so equivocal 
in his conduct, and so apparently undecided for either party, 
that he seemed to do nothing but with a view to his own 
advantage, and to be watching for opportunities of turning 
himself and his army to one side or the other, wherever the 
greater prospect of power for himself should appear. But 
at last he came to a collision with Cinna, in a long and 
fierce battle, of which, begun and ended as it was under the 
very walls and view of the city of Borne, it can hardly be 
expressed how grievous was the result both to the com- 
batants and the spectators 1 . Soon after, while a pestilence 
was ravaging both armies, as if they were not sufficiently 
exhausted by the sword, Cnseus Pompeius died; but the 
joy felt at his death was in a great measure counterbalanced 
by sorrow for the loss of so many citizens, cut off by the 

1 XXI. To— the spectators] From the loss of their relatives. 



462 VELLEITJS PATEBCULUS. [Book II. 

sword or by sickness. The Eoman people vented on his 
corpse the resentment which they owed to him when alive. 
"Whether there were two or three families of the Pompeii, 
Quintus Pompeius was the first consul of that name, with 
Cnaeus Servilius, about a hundred and sixty-seven years 
ago. Cinna and Marius, after several encounters, not with- 
out considerable bloodshed on both sides, made themselves 
masters of the city ; but Cinna entered it first, and proposed 
a law for the recal of Marius. 

XXII. Soon after, Caius Marius made his entry into the 
city, an entry fatal to his countrymen. Nothing could have 
surpassed his victorious irruption in cruelty, had not that of 
Sylla speedily followed. ]S"or was the licentious barbarity of 
the sword inflicted only on the middling ranks ; but men of 
the highest stations, and most eminent characters, were_ 
destroyed under various kinds of sufferings ; among these 
the consul Octavius, a man of the mildest disposition, was 
slain by order of Cinna. Merula, who, on the approach of 
Cinna, had resigned the consulship, having opened his veins, 
and sprinkled his blood on the altars, implored the same 
gods, whom, as priest of Jupiter, he had often intreated to 
preserve the Commonwealth, to pour curses on Cinna and his 
party, and then resigned a life, which had greatly served the 
state. Marcus Antonius, a man as eminent in civil dignity 
as in eloquence, was, by order of Marius and Cinna, stabbed 
by the swords of the soldiers; whom he long caused to 
hesitate by the power of his eloquence. Quintus Catulus, cele- 
brated for his other merits, as well as for the fame acquired 
in the Cimbrian war, which was common to him and Ma- 
rius, when search was made for him by executioners, shut 
himself up in a place lately plastered with mortar 1 , had fire 
brought in to raise a strong smell, and then, by inhaling the 
noxious vapour, and holding in his breath, he found a death 
agreeable to the wishes, though not to the intentions of his 
enemies. Everything was falling headlong into ruin, but no 
person was yet found who dared to make a donation of the 
property of a Eoman citizen, or to ask for it. Afterwards 
this additional evil was introduced, that avarice supplied 

1 XXII. With mortar] Cake arenaque. With lime and sand. Floras, iii., 21, 
says that Catulus died ignis haustu, by swallowing fire. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF EOMAK HISTOBY. 463 

motives for cruelty ; magnitude of guilt was estimated by- 
magnitude of wealth ; whoever was rich, was criminal, and 
became a reward, as it were, for his own destruction 1 ; nor 
was anything considered dishonourable that was gainful. 

XXIII. Cinna now entered on his second consulship, and 
Marius on his seventh, to the utter disgrace of the former 
six. In the early part of it he fell sick and died, leaving a 
character for having been implacable in war toward his ene- 
mies, and in peace toward his countrymen, and utterly im- 
patient of quiet. In his room was elected Valerius Haccus, 
the author of a most dishonourable law, by which he obliged 
all creditors to accept a fourth part of what was due to 
them ; for which proceeding deserved punishment overtook 
him within two years after. "While Cinna tyrannised in 
Italy, the greater part of the nobility fled into Achaia to 
Sylla, and thence afterwards into Asia. Sylla meanwhile 
engaged the generals of Mithridates, near Athens, in Boeotia, 
and Macedonia, with such success that he recovered Athens, 
and, after expending a vast deal of labour in reducing the 
numerous fortifications of the Pirseeus, slew above two hun- 
dred thousand of the enemy, and took at least as many 
prisoners. If any person imputes the guilt of rebellion to 
the Athenians, at the time when their city was besieged by 
Sylla, he is certainly ignorant both of the truth and of 
history. For so invariable was the fidelity of the Athenians 
to the Eomans, that at all times, and in every transaction, 
whatever was performed with perfect good faith, the Eomans 
used to say was done with "Attic faith." But that people, 
overpowered by the force of Mithridates, were in a most 
miserable condition, held in possession by their enemies, be- 
sieged by their friends, and, while their inclinations were 
outside the walls, compelled by necessity to keep their per- 
sons within. Sylla, then passing over to Asia, found Mi- 
thridates submissive, and ready to agree to any terms 
whatever. He obliged him, after paying a fine in money, 
and delivering up half of his ships, to withdraw from Asia 
and all the other provinces of which he had taken possession 
by force of arms ; he recovered the prisoners, punished the 

1 A reward — for his own destruction] Suir—periculi merces. " His property 
being divided among those who procured his death." Ruhriken. 



464 VELLEITJS PATERCULTJS. [Book II. 

deserters and other traitors, and ordered the king to confine 
himself within his father's territory, that is, Pontus. 

XXIV. Caius Plavius Fimbria (who, being general of the 
cavalry before Sylla came into Asia, had put to death Vale- 
rius Placcus, a man that had been consul, and, having as- 
sumed the command of the army, and been saluted with the 
title of Imperator, had got the better of Mithridates in a vi- 
gorous engagement) slew himself on Sylla' s arrival. He 
was a young man, who executed with bravery what he 
planned with utter disregard of honesty. In the same year 
Publius Lsenas, a tribune of the people, threw from the Tar- 
peian rock Sextus Lucilius, who had been tribune the year 
before ; and as his colleagues, whom he had fixed a day 
to bring to trial, fled in alarm to Sylla, he procured a sen- 
tence of banishment 1 against them. 

Sylla, having now arranged affairs beyond sea, and having, 
as chief of all the Eomans, received ambassadors from the Par- 
thians, (some of whom, being magi, foretold from marks on 
his body that his life and memory would be glorious,) sailed 
home to Italy, landing at Brundusium not more than thirty 
thousand men to oppose two hundred thousand of his ene- 
mies. I can scarcely consider any part of Sylla's conduct 
more honourable than this ; that while the party of Marius 
and Cinna held Italy in subjection, during three years, and 
while he never dissembled his intention of turning his arms 
against them, he yet did not relinquish the affairs which he 
had in hand, judging it right to humble an enemy, before 
he took vengeance on a countryman ; nor was it till fear 
from abroad was removed, and till he had subdued foreign 
foes, that he proceeded to suppress opposition at home. 
Before the arrival of Lucius Sylla, however, Cinna was slain 
in a mutiny of his troops. Such a man deserved to die 
rather by the sentence of a conqueror, than by the rage of 
the soldiery. But he was a character, of whom it may truly 
be said, that he dared what no good man would dare, and 
accomplished what could be effected by none but the bravest ; 
that he was precipitate in forming his designs, but executed 

1 XXIV. Procured a sentence of banishment] Aqua ignique iis inter dixit. 
See Florus, iii., 16. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OP EOMAX HISTORY. 46t> 

them like a man. Carbo, electing no colleague in his room,, 
continued sole consul for all the rest of the year. 

XXV. It might be supposed that Sylla had come into 
Italy, not to take vengeance for the war raised against 
him, but merely to establish peace ; so quietly did he 
lead his army through Calabria and Apulia into Campa- 
nia, taking the greatest care for the safety of the fruits, 
lands, inhabitants, and towns ; and endeavouring to put an 
end to the war on just and equitable terms. But peace 
could never be acceptable to those whose desires were un- 
principled and without control. In the mean time Sylla' s 
army increased daily ; for all the best and most judicious 
flocked to his standard. Then, by a happy concurrence of 
events, he suppressed the consuls Scipio and Xorbanus near 
Capua ; Xorbanus was conquered in battle ; Scipio, deserted 
by his troops and delivered into Sylla's hands, was dismissed 
without injury. So different was Sylla as an adversary and 
a conqueror, that, while he was still gaining a victory, he 
was merciful to excess 1 , but after it was secured, more cruel 
than any on record. Thus he dismissed the disarmed con- 
sul, as we have said, and released, in like manner, Quintus- 
Sertorius, (soon to prove the firebrand of so great a war,) 
and many others whom he had taken ; in order, we might 
suppose, that a proof might be seen of the existence of two dis- 
tinct and opposite minds in the same person. After his victory, 
on the spot where, in his descent from Mount Tifata, he 
had encoimtered Caius Xorbanus, he gave solemn thanks to 
Diana, the deity to whom that tract is sacred, and dedicated 
to the goddess the waters so celebrated for their salubrity 
and for curing diseases, with all the adjacent land. An in- 
scription on a pillar at the door of her temple, and a brazen 
tablet within it, preserve to the present day the memory of 
this grateful religious ceremony. 

XXVI. The next consuls were Carbo, a third time, and 
Caius Marius, son of him who had been seven times consul ,- 
the latter was then twenty-six years old, and was a man of 
his father's spirit, though not of his father's length of life 2 . 

1 XXV. Merciful to excess] Justissimo lenior. The text is here defective. 

2 XXVI. A man of his father's spirit, though not of his father's length of life] 
Vir anirrti magis quani cevi jmtemi. " JEvum is here for astas. Marina did not 
iive as many years as his father, being killed young, as is related in c. 2J.' r 
Kranse. 

2h 



466 YELLEITJS PATEECULUS. [Book II. 

He made many courageous efforts, nor did he, as consul, fall 
in any way below his name. But being defeated by Sylla in 
a pitched battle at Sacriportus, he retreated with his troops 
to Prseneste, a place which was well defended by nature, and 
in which he had placed a strong garrison. 

That nothing might be wanting to the public calamities, 
men rivalled each other in crimes, in a state where the 
rivalry had always been in virtues ; and he thought himself 
the best man who proved himself the worst. Thus Dama- 
sippus, then praetor, during the contest at Sacriportus, mur- 
dered in the Curia Hostilia, as abettors of Sylla' s party, 
Domitius, Mucius Scsevola, who was chief pontiff, and highly 
celebrated for his knowledge both of divine and human law, 
Caius Carbo, who had been praetor, and was brother of the 
consul, and Antistius, who had been sedile. Let not Cal- 
purnia, daughter of Bestia, and wife of Antistius, lose the re- 
nown of a very glorious act. When her husband was put to 
death, as we have said, she stabbed herself with a sword. 
"What an accession of glory and fame to her family 1 ! # # 

XXVII. At this time, Pontius Telesinus, a Samnite 
general, a man of great spirit and activity in the field, and a 
thorough enemy to all the Eoman name, having assembled 
about forty thousand young men of the greatest bravery, 
and the most determined obstinacy in continuing the war, 
maintained, in the consulship of Carbo and Marius, on the 
first of November, a hundred and eleven years ago, such a 
struggle with Sylla at the Colline gate, as brought both him 
and the republic into the utmost peril ; nor was the state in 
more imminent danger when it beheld the camp of Hannibal 
within three miles of the city, than on that day when Tele- 
sinus, hurrying through the ranks of his army, exclaimed 
that the last day of Eome was come, and exhorted them in a 
loud voice to pull down and destroy the city, adding, that 
those wolves, the devourers of Italian liberty, would never 
cease from ravaging, until the woods, in which they took re- 
fuge, were hewn down. At length, after the first hour of the 
night, the Eoman troops took breath, and those of the enemy 
retired. Next day Telesinus was found mortally wounded, 
but wearing the look of a conqueror, rather than of a man at 

1 The words at the end of this chapter are so defective, that it is useless to 
attempt a translation of them. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OE EOMAK" HISTOET. 467 

the point of death. Sylla ordered his head to be cut off, and 
carried and displayed around the walls of Prameste. Young 
Caius Marius, then at length seeing his cause desperate, en- 
deavoured to make his way out through subterraneous 
passages 1 , which, constructed with wonderful labour, led to 
different parts of the adjacent country, but, as soon as he 
emerged from an opening, he was slain by persons stationed 
there for the purpose. Some say, that he died by his own 
hand ; others, that as he was struggling with the younger 
brother of Telesinus, who was shut up with him, and attempt- 
ing to escape at the same time, they fell by mutual wounds. 
In whatever manner he died, his memory, even at this day, 
is not obscured by the grand reputation of his father. What 
was Sylla' s opinion of the youth, is manifest ; for it was not 
till after his death that he assumed the title of Eelix, which 
he would have adopted with the greatest justice, had his vic- 
tories and his life ended together. The commander of the 
forces that besieged Marius in Praeneste was Lucretius 
Ofella, who, having been previously a leader on Marius' s 
side, had deserted to Sylla. The happy issue of that day, on 
which Telesinus and the Samnite army were repulsed, Sylla 
honoured with an annual celebration of games in the Circus, 
which are exhibited under the title of " Sylla's Games." 

XXVIII. A short time before Sylla's battle at Sacri- 
portus, some officers of his party had defeated the enemy in 
engagements of great importance ; the two Servilii at Clu- 
sium, Metellus Pius at Paventia, and Marcus Lucullus near 
Pidentia. The miseries of civil war seemed now to be at an 
end, when they were renewed with additional violence by the 
cruelty of Sylla ; for, being made dictator, (an office which 
had been discontinued a hundred and twenty years, the last 
having been in the year subsequent to Hannibal's departure 
from Italy ; whence it is evident that the Eoman people did 
not so much desire the authority of the dictatorship in times 
of danger, as they dreaded it in those of peace,) he used that 
power, which former dictators had employed to preserve the 
state from imminent dangers, with the unrestrained indul- 
gence of wanton barbarity. He first adopted (would that 

1 XXVII. Subterraneous passages] Cunicuhs. " Made either for the convey- 
ance of water, or for secret ways of exit from the city. See Strabo, v., p. 365." 
Xrause. 

2h2 



468 VELLEITJS PATEECULUS. [Book II. 

he had been the last !) the plan of proscription ; so that, in 
a state in which justice is granted to a hissed actor, if as- 
sailed with abusive language, a reward was publicly offered for 
the murder of a Soman citizen ; he who procured most deaths, 
gained most money ; the price for killing an enemy was not 
greater than that for killing a citizen ; and each man's pro- 
perty became a prize for depriving him of life 1 . He vented his 
barbarous rage, not only on those who had borne arms against 
him, but on many who could not be charged with any guilt. 
He directed, also, that the goods of the proscribed should 
be sold ; and the children, after being excluded from the pro- 
perty of their fathers, were deprived of the right of suing for 
places of honour ; thus, what was most unreasonable, the 
sons of senators were obliged to bear the burdens of their 
station, and at the same time lost their privileges. 

XXIX. Not long before Lucius Sylla's arrival in Italy, 
Cnseus Pompey, son of that Cnseus Pompey whose great 
exploits in his consulship, during the Marsian war, we have 
previously mentioned, being then twenty-three years of 
age, a hundred and thirteen years ago, began to form great 
projects, depending as well on his own private resources as 
on his own judgment, and boldly to put them in execution ; 
and in order to support or restore the dignity of his country, 
assembled a strong army from the Picenian territory, which 
was wholly filled with his father's clients. To do justice to 
this man's greatness would require many volumes ; but the 
limits of my work require that he should be characterised in 
a few words. His mother's name was Lucilia, of a senatorial 
family ; he w T as remarkable for beauty, not such as adorns the 
bloom of life, but of such dignity and serenity as was well 
adapted to his rank and station, and which accompanied him 
to the last day of his life. He was distinguished for tem- 
perance, was eminent for integrity, and had a moderate share 
of eloquence. He was excessively covetous of power, when 
conferred on him from regard to his merit, but had no desire 
to acquire it by irregular means. In war, he was the most 
skilful of generals ; in peace, the most modest of citizens, ex- 
cept when he was jealous of having an equal. He was con- 
stant in his friendships, placable when offended, most cordial 

1 XXVIII. A prize for depriving him of life] Quisque merces mortis suce. 
Comp., c. 22. 



Book II. ] COMPENDIUM OP EOMAK HISTOBY. 469 

in reconciliation, most ready to receive an apology. He 
never, or very rarely, stretched his power to excess, and was 
almost exempt from vice, unless it be counted among the 
greatest vices, that, in a free state, the mistress of the world, 
though, in right, he saw every citizen his equal, he could not 
endure to behold any one on a level with him in dignity. 
From the time of his assuming the manly gown, he was 
trained to war in the camp of his father, a general of consum- 
mate judgment ; and he improved a genius naturally good, 
and capable of attaining all useful knowledge, with such sin- 
gular skill in military affairs, that while Metellus received 
higher praise from Sertorius, Pompey was much more 
- dreaded by him. 

XXX 1 . # # # # At this time Marcus Perperna, a man 
who had held the prsetorship, one of the proscribed, and who 
was of high family, but of little honour, assassinated Serto- 
rius at a feast at Osca ; and by this execrable deed procured 
certain victory for the Eomans, ruin for his own party, and 
a most shameful death for himself 2 . Metellus and Pompey 
triumphed for the conquest of Spain. At the time of this 
triumph, also, Pompey was still a Roman knight ; yet on the 
day before he entered on his consulship, he rode through the 
city in his chariot 3 . Must it not be matter of wonder, that 
this man, elevated to the summit of dignity through so many 
extraordinary gradations of preferment, should be displeased 
at the Eoman senate and people for favouring Caius Caesar 
in his application for a second consulship ? So apt are men 
to think everything pardonable in themselves, and to show 
no indulgence to others ; regulating their dislike of proceed- 
ings, not by the merits of the case, but by their own wishes 
and feelings for particular characters. In this consulate, 
Pompey re-established the tribunitial power, of which Sylla 
had left the shadow without the substance. 

1 XXX. Krause thinks that there is a considerable hiatus between these two 
chapters. 

2 Shameful death for himself] His treachery led to his desertion by his 
troops, and his defeat and death at the hands of Pompey. See Appian, B. C., i., 
115 ; Plutarch, Sert, c. 27 ; Pomp., c. 20. 

3 Rode through the city in his chariot] There was a law which forbade any 
one, who was not of consular or praetorian dignity, to have a triumph. But this 
was Pompey's second triumph. Hence Velleius says hoc quoque triumpho, "in 
this triumph also." See Plutarch, Pomp., c. 14, 22. 



470 YELLEIUS PATERCXJLTTS. [Book II, 

"While the war with Sertorius continued in Spain, sixty- 
four fugitive slaves, headed by Spartacus, made their escape 
out of a gladiator's school at Capua; and, forcibly supplying 
themselves with swords in that city, directed their course at 
first to Mount Vesuvius. Afterwards, increasing daily in 
numbers, they brought many and grievous disasters on the 
whole of Italy. At length they became so numerous, that 
in the last battle which they fought, they opposed forty 
thousand men to the Eoman army. The honour of termi- 
nating this war fell to Marcus Crassus, who soon after 
became a leading man among the Eoman people. 

XXXI. The character of Cnaeus Pompey had attracted 
the attention of the whole world, and he was regarded as 
something more than man. In his consulship he had very 
laudably taken an oath, that, on the expiration of his office, 
he would not take the government of any province ; and this 
oath he had observed ; when, two years after, Aulus G-abinius, 
a tribune of the people, got a law passed, that, whereas cer- 
tain pirates kept the world in alarm with their fleets, en- 
gaging in regular warfare, and not in mere robberies or secret 
expeditions, and had even plundered several cities in Italy, 
Cnseus Pompey should be commissioned to suppress them ; 
and should have authority in all the provinces, equal to that 
of the proconsuls, to the distance of fifty miles from the sea. 
By this decree the government of almost the whole world 
was vested in one man. However, a law of the like kind 
had been made two years before in the case of Marcus An- 
tonius, when praetor ; but as the character of the person 
concerned renders such a precedent more or less pernicious, 
so it augments or diminishes men's disapprobation of the 
proceeding. "With regard to Antonius, they acquiesced 
without displeasure, for people are rarely jealous of the 
honours of those whose influence they do not fear. On the 
contrary, they look with dread on extraordinary powers con- 
ferred on persons who seem able either to resign or retain 
them at their own choice, and who have no limit to their acts 
but their own will. The nobility opposed the measure, but 
prudence was overcome by party violence. 

XXXII. It is proper to mention in this place, a testimony 
to the high character, and extraordinary modesty, of Quintus 
Catulus. Arguing against this decree in the assembly, and 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF ROMAN HISTORY. 471 

having observed that Poxnpey was undoubtedly a man of ex- 
traordinary merit, but that he was already too great for a 
member of a free state, and that all power ought not to be 
reposed in one individual, he added, " If anything shall 
happen to that man, whom will you substitute in his place?" 
To which the whole assembly answered aloud, " Yourself, 
Quintus Catulus." On this, being overcome by the general 
concurrence of opinion, and by such an honourable proof of 
the public esteem, he withdrew from the assembly. Here it 
is pleasing to admire the modesty of the man and the justice 
of the people; his modesty in desisting from pressing his 
opinion further, and their justice in proving themselves un- 
willing to defraud him of a due testimony of esteem, though 
he was opposing and arguing against their inclinations. 
About the same time, Cotta divided equally between the two 
orders the privilege of being judges 1 , which Caius Gracchus 
had taken from the senate, and transferred to the knights, 
and which Sylla had again restored to the senators. Eoscius 
Otho now restored 2 to the knights their places in the theatre. 
Cnaeus Pompey having engaged many officers of great abili- 
ties to assist him in the war, and having raised a navy suffi- 
cient to command every nook of the sea, very soon, with his 
invincible hand, freed the world from apprehension, defeated 
the pirates * # # in various places 3 , and, attacking them 
on the coast of Cilicia, gave them a final overthrow. And in 
order the sooner to conclude a war so widely spread, he col- 
lected the remains of these depredators together, and ap- 
pointed them fixed residences in towns, and in parts remote 
from the sea. Some blame this proceeding ; but the high 
character of the man sufficiently justifies it ; though, indeed, 
its reasonableness would have justified it in a man of any 
character. Enabling them to live without plundering, he of 
course diverted them from a predatory life. 

1 XXXII. Privilege of being judges] Judicandl munus. See the Pseudo- 
Sallust's First Epistle to Caesar, c. 7. 

2 Roscius Otho now restored] Otho Roscius — restituit. " The same word is 
twice used, in speaking of this law, by Cicero, proMurasn., c. 19, so that it is pro- 
bable, as Puteanus has suggested, that the equites had seats separate from the 
plebs before this well-known law was passed." Ruhnken. 

3 Defeated the pirates * * * in various places] Proedonesque per multa * * * 
a myitis locis, #c. A defective passage. The Bipont editor reads per multa 
maria multis, <fc. 



472 VELLEIUS PATEKCULTTS. [Book II. 

XXXIII. When the war with Mithridates was drawing 
to a close, and while Lucius Lucullus, who, on the expira- 
tion of his consulship, seven years before, having received 
Asia as his province, and been appointed to act against 
Mithridates, had achieved many memorable exploits, having 
often defeated that monarch in various places, having relieved 
Cyzicus by a glorious victory, having vanquished Tigranes, 
the greatest king of the age, in Armenia, and having for- 
borne, rather than been unable, to put the finishing hand to 
the war, (for though in every other respect highly deserving 
of praise, and in the field almost invincible, he was a slave 
to the desire of increasing his wealth,) while Lucullus, I say, 
was still prosecuting the contest, Manilius, a tribune of the 
people, a man always venal, and the tool of men in power, 
proposed a law, "that the war with Mithridates should be 
conducted by Cnseus Pompey." This law was passed; and a 
quarrel ensued between the two commanders, attended with 
violent altercations. Pompey reproached Lucullus with his 
scandalous love of money, and Lucullus railed at Pompey' s 
inordinate ambition ; and neither could be convicted of 
falsehood in what he laid to the charge of the other. For 
Pompey, from his first engagement in public business, 
could never with patience endure an equal, and in cases 
where he was entitled to the first share of honour, he wished 
to engross the whole ; no man, indeed, being less covetous 
of everything else, or more so of glory. In his pursuit of 
employments of honour, he was immoderate; in office, he 
displayed the utmost moderation. Though he accepted posts 
of distinction with pleasure, he quitted them without regret, 
resigning at the will of others what he had sought for his 
own gratification. Lucullus, in other particulars a very great 
man, was the first introducer of the luxury which now pre- 
vails in buildings, entertainments, and furniture ; so that, in 
allusion to the structures which he raised in the sea, and his 
conducting the sea into the land by undermining mountains, 
Pompey the Great used facetiously to call him " Xerxes in 
a toga." 

XXXIV. About this time, the island of Crete was re- 
duced under the dominion of the Roman people by Quintus 
Metellus. This island, under two leaders, named Panares 
and Lasthenes, at the head of twenty-four thousand young 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF EOMAN HISTOET. 473 

men, who were swift and active, patient of warfare and 
toil, and eminently skilled in archery, had wearied out 
the Eoman armies during the previous three years. Even 
of the renown acquired here, Pompey did not refrain from 
seeking a share, but endeavoured to make it appear that a 
portion of the success was due to himself. However, their 
own singular merits, and the feeling against Pompey enter- 
tained by the most honourable men on the occasion, rendered 
the triumph of Lucullus and Metellus extremely popular. 

Soon after, Marcus Cicero, who was indebted to himself 
for all his advancement, the noblest of new men 1 , honoured 
in his life and pre-eminent in ability, to whom we are obliged 
for not being excelled in genius by those 3 whom we con- 
quered in arms, detected, in his character of consul, and with 
extraordinary courage, firmness, vigilance, and activity, a 
conspiracy of Sergius Catiline, Lentulus, Cethegus, and 
other members of the senatorial and equestrian orders. 
Catiline was compelled, by dread of the extraordinary powers 
conferred on the consul, to flee from the city. Lentulus, 
who had been consul, and was then in his second prsetorship, 
Cethegus, and several others of great note, were, by the 
consul's order, under the authority of the senate, put to death 
in prison. 

XXXV. That day of the senate's meeting, on which these 
transactions passed, displayed in the brightest colours the 
merit of Marcus Cato, which on many prior occasions had 
shone conspicuous, and with peculiar lustre. He was 
great-grandson of Marcus Cato, the founder of the Porcian 
family, and was a man who closely resembled virtue itself, 
and, in every particular of his conduct, seemed more like the 
gods than mankind ; who never acted rightly, that he might 
appear to do so, but because he could not act otherwise ; 
who never thought anything reasonable, that was not like- 
wise just ; and who, exempt from every vice, kept his own 
fortune always in his own power. After some had advised 
that Lentulus and the other conspirators should be kept in 
custody in the municipal towns, he, being then tribune of the 
people elect, very young, and almost the last that was asked 

1 XXXIV. Noblest of new men] Novitatis nobilissimce. The 'translation is 
Baker's. 

2 Excelled in genius by those, cfc] Viz., by the Greeks. 



474 VELLEITTS PATEBCULUS. [Book II. 

his opinion, inveighed against the conspiracy with such 
energy and ability, that, by the warmth of his discourse, he 
caused the language of all that recommended lenity to be 
regarded with suspicion, as if they were connected with the 
plot; and so forcibly did he represent the dangers impending 
from the destruction and burning of the city, and from the 
subversion of the established state of public affairs, so 
highly, too, did he extol the merits of the consul, that the 
whole senate went over to his opinion, and decreed that 
capital punishment should be inflicted on the conspirators ; 
and the greater part of that body, after the conclusion of the 
debate, escorted him to his house. But Catiline was not less 
resolute in the prosecution of his schemes, than he had been 
in forming them ; for, fighting with the greatest courage, he 
resigned in the field of battle the breath which he owed to 
the executioner. 

XXXVI. The birth of the emperor Augustus, ninety-two 
years from the present time, who was afterwards, by his 
greatness, to cast a shade over all men of all nations, added 
no small lustre to the consulship of Cicero. To notice the 
times at which eminent geniuses flourished during this 
period, may seem almost superfluous ; for who is ignorant 
that in this age arose, separated by short intervals, Cicero, 
Hortensius, and, a little before them, * # # Crassus 1 , 
Cotta, and Sulpicius, while, immediately after, appeared 
Brutus, Calidius, Cselius, Calvus, and Caesar, who came next 
to Cicero, besides the disciples, as we may call them, of 
these, Corvinus, Asinius Pollio, Sallust, the rival of Thucy- 
dides, as well as the poets Varro and Lucretius, with 
Catullus, who was inferior to none in the style of writing 
which he adopted ? To enumerate those that are before our 
eyes would seem to be but folly ; amongst whom, however, 
the most eminent are Virgil, the prince of poets, Rabirius 2 , 
Livy, who follows hard upon Sallust, Tibullus, and Ovid, 

1 XXXVI. A little before them, * * * Crassus, #c] Anteaque * * * Crassum. 
Anteaque is a conjecture of Heinsius for saneque, the previous reading. Puteanus 
thinks that the name of Antonius is wanting in the text. 

2 Kabirius] # For Rabirius, Markland, Ep. Crit., p. 14, would read Varius. 
Perizonius thinks that Eoratius should be inserted ; and Burman supposes that 
the name of Propertius has dropped out of the text. But Velleius, says Krause, 
might have reasons for omitting both Horace and Propertius. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OP EOMAN HISTOET. 475 

each excellent in his peculiar species of composition. But 
the difficulty of criticising our living authors is proportioned 
to the great admiration felt for them. 

XXXVII. During the time of these transactions in Borne 
and Italy, Cnasus Pompey was carrying on the war with ex- 
traordinary success against Mithridates, who, after the de- 
parture of Lucullus, had formed a new army of very great 
force. But the king being routed and put to flight, and 
stripped of all his forces, went into Armenia, to his son-in- 
law Tigranes, the most powerful prince of that age, had not 
his strength been somewhat reduced by the arms of Lu- 
cullus. Pompey, therefore, in pursuit of both, entered 
Armenia. The son of Tigranes, who was at variance with 
his father, was the first to meet Pompey, and soon after, the 
king himself, in a suppliant manner, surrendered his person 
and his kingdom to his disposal ; previously declaring, that 
there was no man, either of the Boman or of any other 
nation, to whose honour he would entrust himself, but 
Cnaeus Pompey ; that any condition, whether favourable or 
adverse, which he should appoint, would be tolerable to him; 
and that it was no disgrace to be conquered by him whom it 
was impossible to conquer, nor any dishonour to submit to 
him whom fortune had raised above all men. The king was 
allowed to retain the honour of sovereignty, but was obliged 
to pay a vast sum of money ; the whole of which, according 
to Pompey' s constant practice, was lodged in the hands of 
the quaestor, and registered in the public accounts. Syria 
and the other provinces which he had seized, were taken 
from him ; of which some were restored to the Boman 
people, and others came* for the first time under its dominion, 
as Syria, which was sentenced to pay tribute. The limits of 
the king's dominion were fixed as those of Armenia. 

XXXVIII. It seems not inconsistent with the plan of 
this work to recount briefly what states and nations have 
been reduced, and under whose generalship, into the form of 
provinces, and made tributary. This statement I shall give, 
that the whole history of them may more easily be learned 
at one view, than if each were mentioned separately. The 
first who transported an army into Sicily was the consul 
Claudius; and about fifty-two years after, Claudius Mar- 
cellus, having taken Syracuse, made it a province. Begulus 



476 YELLEIUS PATEECULUS. [Book II. 

first carried hostilities into Africa, about the ninth year of 
the first Punic war ; but it was not till a hundred and five 
years after, (a hundred and seventy-five from the present 
time,) that Publius Scipio iEmilianus, on destroying Car- 
thage, reduced Africa to the form of a province. Sardinia 
submitted to a permanent yoke of government between the 
first and second Punic wars, through the exertions of the 
consul Titus Manlius. It is a strong proof of the warlike 
disposition of the Eoman nation, that the shutting of the 
temple of double-faced Janus gave indication of general 
peace, only once under the kings, a second time in the con- 
sulate of this Titus Manlius, and a third time in the reign 
of Augustus. The first who led armies into Spain were the 
two Scipios, Cnssus and Publius, in the beginning of the 
second Punic war, two hundred and fifty years ago ; after 
that, our possessions there varied, and were often partly lost, 
but the whole was made tributary by the arms of Augustus. 
Paulus subdued Macedonia, Mummius Achaia, Pulvius No- 
bilior ^Etolia. Lucius Scipio, brother of Africanus, took 
Asia from Antiochus ; but after it had been possessed some 
time by the royal family of Attalus, through the kindness of 
the Eoman senate and people, Marcus Perperna, having taken 
Aristonicus prisoner, made it a tributary province. Of con- 
quering Cyprus the honour can be given to no one ; for it 
was in consequence of a decree of the senate, and by the in- 
strumentality of Cato, on the death of its king, which, con- 
scious of guilt, he inflicted on himself, that it became a 
province. Crete was punished, under the command of Me- 
tellus, with the loss of its long-enjoyed liberty, and Syria 
and Pontus are monuments of the vaiour of Cnseus Pompey. 
XXXIX. In Gaul, which was first entered with an army 
by Domitius, and Fabius the grandson of Paulus, who got 
the title of Allobrogicus, we often, with great detriment to 
ourselves, made acquisitions and lost them. But the most 
splendid achievement of Caius Caesar is there conspicuous ; 
for, under his conduct and auspices, it was so reduced, that 
it tamely pays almost the same tribute as all the rest of 
the world. By the same commander Numidia was made a 
province. Isauricus completely subdued Cilicia, and Man- 
lius Vulso Grallogrsecia, after the war with Antiochus. 
Bithynia, as we have said, was left us as an inheritance by 



Book II.] coiiPE^Dnra of :ro3j;a:n t histoex. 477 

the will of Nicomedes. The divine Augustus, beside Spain 
and other nations, with the names of which his Forum is 
adorned, brought into the treasury, by making Egypt tribu- 
tary, almost as great a revenue as his father did by the 
reduction of Gaul. Tiberius Caesar extorted from the ULy- 
rians and Dalmatians as explicit a confession of subjection 
as his parent had exacted from the Spaniards, and annexed 
to our empire, as new provinces, Ehaetia, Vindelicia, Nori- 
cum, Pannonia, and the Scordisci. As he reduced these by 
arms, so, by the influence of his name, he made Cappadocia 
tributary to the Romans. But let us return to the course 
of our narrative. 

XL. Then followed the military exploits of Cnseus Pom- 
pey, of which it is hard to tell, whether the glory or the toil 
was greater. In his victorious career, he traversed Media, 
Albania, Iberia, and then directed his march to the nations 
inhabiting the interior and right-hand coasts of the Pontus 
Euxinus, the Colchians, Heniochi, and Achaeans. Mithri- 
dates, sinking under the ascendancy of Pompey, and the 
treachery of his own son Pharnaces, was the last of inde- 
pendent kings, excepting the Parthian 1 . Thus Pompey, 
victorious over every nation to which he had gone, grown 
greater than the wish of his countrymen or even than his 
own, and having in every way exceeded the measure of 
human fortune, returned to Italy. An opinion that had pre- 
vailed rendered his return extremely popular ; for most 
people had asserted that he would not come into the city 
without his army, and that he would limit the liberty of the 
people by his own will. The more strongly they were 
affected by this apprehension, the more grateful was the un- 
assuming manner in which that great commander returned ; 
for, having disbanded his whole army at Brundusium, and 
retaining nothing of the general but the title, he entered the 
city with no other retinue than that which was constantly 
accustomed to attend him. During two days he exhibited a 
most magnificent triumph over so many kings, and, out of 
the spoils, brought into the treasury a much larger sum of 

1 XL. Excepting the Parthian] "He means in the East. All other kings, 
except those of Parthia, owed then- kingdoms to the indulgence of the Romans, 
and were subservient to their will, chiefly by the instrumentality of Pompey." 
Krause. 



478 YELLEITTS PATEBCULXTS. [Book II. 

money than had been known in any former instance, except- 
ing that of Paulus 1 . During the absence of Pompey, Titus 
Ampius and Titus Labienus, tribunes of the people, got a 
law passed, that at the games in the Circus he might wear a 
crown of laurel, and all the dress usual in triumphs ; and at 
exhibitions on the stage, a purple-bordered robe, and laurel 
crown; but this privilege he never thought proper to use 
but once, and, in truth, even that was too much. Fortune 
added to this man's dignity with such large increase, that he 
triumphed first over Africa, then over Europe, and next over 
Asia, rendering each part of the world a monument of his 
victories. But eminent stations are never exempt from 
envy. Lucullus, who, however, was moved by resentment 
of the ill-treatment shown him, and Metellus Creticus, who 
had a just cause of complaint, (for Pompey had taken from 
him some captive leaders that were intended to grace bis 
triumph,) in conjunction with many of the nobles, laboured 
to prevent both Pompey' s engagements to the several states, 
and his promises of rewards to the deserving, from being 
fulfilled according to his direction. 

XLI. Next followed the consulship of Caius Caesar, who 
arrests me as I am writing, and forces me, though in haste, 
to bestow some attention on him. He was born of the 
most noble, and, as all writers admit, most ancient family of 
the Julii, deriving his pedigree from Anchises and Venus. 
In personal beauty he was the first of all his countrymen ; 
in vigour of mind indefatigable ; liberal to excess ; in spirit 
elevated above the nature and conception of man ; in the 
grandeur of his designs, the celerity of his military opera- 
tions, and in his cheerful endurance of dangers, exactly re- 
sembling Alexander the Great when sober and free from 
passion. Pood he took for the sustenance of life, not for 
pleasure. Though he was closely connected in relationship 
with Caius Marius, and was also son-in-law to Cinna, (whose 
daughter he could by no intimidation be induced to divorce, 
though Marcus Piso, a man of consular rank, to gratify 

1 Excepting that of Paulus] Prceterqmm a Paullo. Vossius, Burman, Gruter, 
Ruhnken, and Krause concur in thinking these words spurious ; for Pompey, 
according to Plutarch, Pomp., c. 45, brought into the treasury twenty thousand 
talents of gold and silver, a sum twice as great as that which was brought by 
Paulus iEmilius. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF SOMAN HISTORY. 479 

Sylla, had divorced Annia, who had been wife of Cinna,) and 
though he was only about nineteen years old when Sylla 
assumed the government of the state, yet the ministers and 
creatures of Sylla, more than himself, made search for him, 
in order to kill him ; on which he changed his clothes, and, 
putting on a dress far inferior to his rank, escaped out of the 
city in the night. Afterwards, while he was still very young, 
he was taken by pirates, and during the whole time that he 
was detained by them, behaved in such a manner, that he be- 
came an object both of terror and veneration to them ; nor 
did he ever, by night or by day, take off his shoes or his girdle, 
(for why should so remarkable a circumstance be omitted, 
though it cannot be told with any grace of style ?) lest, if he 
made any alteration in his usual dress, he should render him- 
self suspected by those who watched him only with their 
eyes 1 . 

XLII. It would require too much space to speak of all 
his various and numerous services, or of the conduct of the 
Eoman magistrate, who then governed Asia, and who, 
through timidity, shrunk from seconding his efforts. Let 
what follows be mentioned, as a specimen of the conduct 
of a man soon to become so great. On the night succeed- 
ing the day on which he was ransomed by the public money 
of several states, (which, however, he managed so as to make 
the pirates give hostages to those states,) he collected a 
squadron of private vessels hastily fitted out, and sailing to 
the place where the pirates were, dispersed part of their 
fleet, sunk part, took several of their ships and men, and 
then, delighted at the success of his nocturnal expedition, 
returned to his friends. Having lodged his prisoners in cus- 
tody, he proceeded to Bithynia, to the proconsul Junius, 
the governor of Asia, and requested him to give orders for 
putting the prisoners to death. This he refused, and said 
he would sell them, (for envy was the concomitant of his 
baseness of spirit 2 ,) when Caesar, with incredible speed, re- 

1 XLI. Watched him only with their eyes] They watched him only with 
their eyes, says Krause, having no mental communication with him. Had he 
made any alteration in his dress, they might have supposed that he was preparing 
for flight, and have laid hands upon him. 

2 XLII. Envy — baseness of spirit] Sequebatur invidia inertiam. Oudendorp 
conjectured avaritia for invidia, Ruhnken justifies invidia by a sentence of 



480 YELLEIUS PATERCULUS. [Book II. 

turned to the coast, and before letters from the proconsul 
about the business could be conveyed to any one, crucified 
the whole of the prisoners. 

XLIII. Returning in haste to Italy, to take on him the 
priest's office, (for he had been elected a pontifex in his ab- 
sence, in the room of Cotta, who had been consul ; and 
when almost a boy, indeed, he had been appointed a priest 
of Jupiter by Marius and Cinna, but had lost that office 
through the victory of Sylla, who annulled all their acts,) 
he embarked, in order to escape the notice of the pirates, 
who covered the whole sea, and were then naturally incensed 
against him, in a four-oared boat, with two friends and ten 
servants, and thus crossed the vast gulf of the Adriatic. 
On his passage, having seen, as he thought, some of the 
pirates' vessels, he threw off his gown, and fastened his 
dagger to his side, preparing himself for any event, but soon 
discovered that his sight had been deceived by a row of trees 
at a distance presenting the appearance of the rigging of 
ships. The rest of his acts in the city, his celebrated im- 
peachment of Dolabella, to whom more public favour was 
shown than is generally extended to persons arraigned ; his 
remarkable political contests with Quintus Catulus, and 
other eminent men ; his victory, before he was praetor, and 
when he stood for the office of pontifex maximus, over the 
same Quintus Catulus, who was universally allowed to be 
the first man in the senate ; his repairing, in his sedileship, 
the monuments of Caius Marius, even in opposition to the 
nobility ; his re-instatement, at the same time, of the sons of 
the proscribed in the right of standing for office ; his won- 
derful energy and activity in his praatorship and quaestor- 
ship in Spain, (where he was quaestor under Antistius Vetus, 
the grandfather of the present Vetus, who has been consul 
and is a pontifex, and who is the father of two sons that 
have been consuls and are priests, a man of as much virtue 
as human integrity can be conceived to embrace,) all these 
matters are too well known to require repetition here. 

XLIV. In his consulship, there was settled between him, 

Seneca, De Tranq. Anim., p. 345, ed. Gronov. : Alit enim livorem infelix inertia ; 
et omnes destrui cupiunt, quia se non poterunt provehere ; and by another from 
Cicero, Phil., x., 1 : Verum esse id quod ego semper sensi, neminem alterius, qui 
sum consuleret, virtuti invidere. 



Book II.] compendium of eomak histoky. 481 

Cnaeus Pompey, and Marcos Crassus, a treaty of alliance in 
power, which proved of fatal consequence to the city and to 
the world, and not less so, at subsequent periods, to them- 
selves. Pompey' s motive for entering into this plan was, 
that his acts in the provinces beyond sea, which were op- 
posed by many, as we have already mentioned, might at 
length be confirmed by means of Caesar, while consul ; Caesar's, 
because he imagined, that by yielding for a time to Pom- 
pey' s power, he should advance his own, and that by throw- 
ing on him the jealousy attending their common greatness, 
he should gain stability to his own strength ; while Crassus 
was filled with the hope of acquiring, through the influence 
of Pompey, and the support of Caesar, that pre-eminence 
which he never could attain by his own single efforts. An 
affinity had also been contracted by marriage between Caesar 
and Pompey ; for Pompey had married Caesar's daughter. In 
his consulship, Caesar procured a law to be passed, which was 
also supported by Pompey, that the lands of Campania should 
be divided among the people; in consequence of which, about 
twenty thousand citizens were conducted thither, and the 
privileges of Eome were restored to that country, about a 
hundred and fifty-two years after Capua had, in the Punic 
war, been reduced by the Romans into the condition of a 
prefecture. Eibulus, Caesar's colleague, being more willing 
than able to obstruct his proceedings, confined himself to his 
house during the greater part of the year ; by which conduct, 
while he wished to increase the odium against his colleague, 
he only increased his power. The province of Gaul was then 
decreed to Caesar for five years. 

XLY. During this period, Publius Clodius, a man of 
noble birth, eloquent, and daring, who knew no control for 
his Trords or actions but his own will, who fearlessly executed 
what he wickedly conceived, who bore the infamy of an in- 
cestuous commerce with his own sister, and who had been 
publicly accused of having committed adultery amidst the 
most solemn religious rites of the Eoman people ; this man, 
I say, being actuated by a most violent enmity to Marcus 
Cicero, (for how, indeed, could anything like friendship sub- 
sist between characters so dissimilar ?) renounced his patri- 
cian rank, became a plebeian, was appointed a tribune, and 
passed a law in his tribunate, that any person who had put 

2i 



482 VELIEITTS PATEECULTJS. [Book II. 

a Eoman citizen to death without a judicial sentence, should 
be sent into banishment 1 . It was Cicero alone, though he 
was not named in this law, that was meant to be affected by 
it. Thus a man, whb had performed the highest services to 
the state, received, in return for having saved his country, 
the penalty of exile. Caesar and Pompey did not escape sus- 
picion of having abetted this persecution of Cicero, who 
seemed to have brought it on himself by refusing to be one 
of the twenty commissioners for dividing the lands of Cam- 
pania. In less than two years, however, by the late but in- 
trepid exertions of Cnaeus Pompey, joined with the wishes 
of all Italy and the decrees of the senate, and through the 
energy and efforts of Annius Milo, a tribune of the people, 
he was restored to his dignity and his country. ISTor, since 
the exile and recal of Numidicus, had the banishment of any 
one excited more regret, or the return more joy. His house, 
which had been pulled down with great malice by Clodius, 
the senate rebuilt with equal magnificence. 

The same Publius Clodius removed Marcus Cato from the 
seat of government, under pretence of giving him a very 
honourable employment ; for he procured a law to be passed, 
that he should be sent in character of quaestor, but with the 
authority of praetor, and with another quaestor attending 
him, into the island of Cyprus, to despoil Ptolemy of his 
kingdom, who, indeed, deserved such treatment by the 
general viciousness of his life. But, just before Cato's 
arrival, he put an end to his own life, and Cato brought 
home from Cyprus a much larger quantity of treasure than 
had been expected. To praise Cato for his honesty, would 
be rather derogatory to him than otherwise ; but to accuse 
him of ostentatiously displaying it, would seem but just ; for 
when all the populace of the city, together with the consuls 
and the senate, poured forth to salute him as he -was sailing 
up the Tiber, he did not disembark to meet them until he 
arrived at the spot where the treasure was to be landed. 

XL VI. "While Caesar was achieving vast exploits in G-aul, 
the relation of which would require many volumes, and, not 
content with numerous and glorious victories, or with kill- 
ing or taking great multitudes of the enemy, had at last 

1 XLV. Sent into banishment] Aqua et igni interdiceretur. See c. 24. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM! OF BOMAN HISTORY. 483 

transported his army into Britain, seeking, as it were, a new- 
world for our government and his own, a remarkable pair 
of consuls 1 , Cnaeus Pompey and Marcus Crassus, entered on 
a second consulship, which they neither acquired by honour- 
able means, nor conducted in a praiseworthy manner. By 
a law which Pompey proposed to the people, the govern- 
ment of his province was continued to Caesar for the same 
length of time as before, and Syria was decreed to Crassus, 
who now meditated a war with Parthia. This man, in other 
respects irreproachable, and unstained by dissipation, knew 
no limits, and imposed no restraint on himself, in his pursuit 
of wealth and glory. "When he was setting out for Syria, 
the tribunes of the people strove in vain to detain him, by 
announcing unfavourable omens ; and, had their curses taken 
effect on him alone, the loss of the general, while the army 
was safe, would have been rather an advantage to the public. 
Crassus had crossed the Euphrates, and was on his march 
towards Seleucia, when king Orodes, surrounding him with 
an immense force of cavalry, slew him, together with the 
greater part of the Roman army. Caius Cassius, (who was 
afterwards guilty of a most atrocious crime 2 ,) being at that 
time quaestor, preserved the remains of the legions, ably 
retained Syria under the power of the Romans, and routed, 
with distinguished success, the Parthians who had invaded 
it, and compelled them to flee. 

XL VII. During this period, that which followed, and the 
one which we have already mentioned, above four hundred 
thousand of the enemy were slain by Caius Caesar, and a 
greater number taken. He fought often in pitched battles,, 
often on his march, often made sudden attacks; twice he 
penetrated into Britain ; and of nine campaigns, scarcely one 
passed without his justly deserving a triumph. But near 
Alesia such achievements were effected as it was scarcely 
for man to attempt, and for little less than a deity to accom- 
plish. It was in the seventh year of Caesar's stay in Gaul 
that Julia, the wife of Pompey the Great, died, the con- 
necting link of concord between Pompey and Caesar ; which, 

1 XL VI, A remarkable pair of consuls] Invictum par consilium. Invktum 
not being satisfactory, Lipsius and Heinsius conjectured inclitum par; Ruhnken 
unicumpar. I have adopted the former. 

2 Most atrocious crime] The assassination of Julius Caesar. 

2i2 



4S4i YELLEIUS PATEBCULUS. [Book II. 

through their mutual jealousy of power, had been some time 
in danger of disruption ; and, as if fortune would dissolve 
every tie between leaders destined to so great a contest, the 
little son of Pompey and Julia died a short time after. 
Then, while ambition extended its rage to the sword and 
civil slaughter, of which neither end nor control could be 
found, his third consulship was conferred on Cnaeus Pom- 
pey, he being made sole consul, with the approbation even 
of those who had formerly opposed his pretensions. In 
consequence of the distinction conferred on him by this 
election, by which it appeared that the party of the nobles 
were reconciled to him, the breach was greatly widened be- 
tween him and Caius Caesar. But he employed the whole 
power of that consulship in laying restraints on bribery. 
In this year, Publius Clodius was killed by Milo, then a 
candidate for the consulship, in a quarrel that arose on their 
meeting near Bovillae ; an act of bad precedent, but bene- 
ficial to the public. It was not more the feeling excited 
against the deed, than the will of Pompey, that caused Milo 
to be condemned on his trial ; though Marcus Cato pub- 
licly gave his opinion in favour of his acquittal. Had he 
given it sooner, several would, doubtless, have followed his 
example, and have approved of the sacrifice. of such a member 
of the community, than whom there never lived one more 
pernicious to the state, or a greater enemy to all good men. 

XL VIII. In a short time after, the flames of civil war 
began to blaze, while every man who regarded justice wished 
both Caesar and Pompey to disband their armies. Por Pom- 
pey, in his second consulship, had desired that the province 
of Spain might be assigned to him ; and during three years, 
while he was absent from the country, and directing affairs in 
Home, he administered the government there by his depu- 
ties, Afranius of consular, and Petreius of praetorian rank ; 
and while he assented to the judgment of those who insisted 
on Caesar's disbanding his army, he opposed those who re- 
quired the same from himself. Had this man died two 
years before recourse was had to arms, after he had finished 
the structures erected at his own expense, his theatre, and 
the buildings around it, and when he was attacked by a 
violent disorder in Campania, (at which time all Italy offered 
prayers for his recovery, an honour never before paid to 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OP SOMAN HISTOEY. 485 

any citizen,) fortune would not have had opportunity to 
work his overthrow, and he would have carried undiminished 
to the shades below the greatness that he enjoyed in this 
upper world. 

For producing the civil war, and all the calamities that 
ensued from it, through a space of twenty successive years, 
there was no one that supplied more flame and excitement 
than Caius Curio, a tribune of the people. He was of noble 
birth, eloquent, intrepid, prodigal alike of his own fortune 
and reputation, and those of others ; a man ably wicked, and 
eloquent to the injury of the public, and whose passions and 
desires no degree of wealth or gratification could satisfy. 
At first he took the side of Pompey, that is, as it was then 
deemed, the side of the Commonwealth ; soon after, he pre- 
tended to oppose both Caesar and Pompey, but, in reality, 
was attached to Caesar. "Whether this attachment was the 
result of his own choice, or the consequence of a bribe of ten 
thousand sestertia 1 , as has been said, we shall leave unde- 
termined. At last, when salutary conditions, tending to 
unite all parties in peace, had been very fairly proposed by 
Caesar, and were patiently considered by Pompey, this man 
interrupted and broke off the treaty, while Cicero laboured, 
with singular zeal, to preserve concord in the state. Of 
these and the preceding transactions, the detail is given in 
the larger volumes of others, and will, I trust, be sufficiently 
set forth in mine. 

XLIX. Let my work now resnme its intended character ; 
though I would first congratulate Quintus Catulus, the two 
Luculli, Metellus, and Hortensius, that after having flou- 
rished in the state without envy, and enjoyed great eminence 
without danger, they died in the course of nature before the 
commencement of the civil broils, and while the state was still 
quiet, or at least not tending to its fall. In the consulship of 
Lentulus and Marcellus, seven hundred and three years after 
the foundation of the city, and seventy-eight before the 
commencement of your consulate, Marcus Vinicius, the 
civil war blazed forth. The cause of one of the leaders ap- 
peared to be the better, that of the other was the stronger. 
On one side everything was specious, on the other was 

1 XLVIII. Ten thousand sestertia] Something more than 80,000/. 



486 YELLEIUS PATEECULUS. [Book II. 

greater power. The support of the senate armed Pompey 
with confidence, that of the soldiery, Caesar. The consuls 
and senate conferred supreme authority, not on Pompey, 
but on his cause. Nothing was omitted by Caesar that could 
be tried for the promotion of peace ; to nothing would the 
party of Pompey listen. Of the consuls, Marcellus was 
more violent than was reasonable; Lentulus saw that 
his own security 1 was incompatible with that of the state. 
Marcus Cato insisted that it were better for them to die, 
than for the state to listen to offers from a private citizen. 
A man of probity and sound judgment would approve 
Pompey' s party; a man of prudence would rather follow 
Caesar's ; deeming the former more honourable, the latter 
more formidable. At length, after rejecting every proposal 
of Caesar's, the opposite party decreed that, retaining the 
mere title of a province, and a single legion, he should 
come to Rome as a private person, and, in standing for 
the consulship, should submit himself to the votes of 
the Soman people; Caesar then resolved on war, and 
passed the Rubicon with his army. Cnaeus Pompey, the 
consuls, and the greater part of the senate, withdrawing 
from the city, and then from Italy, sailed over to Dyr- 
rachium. 

L. Caesar, having got into his power Domitius, and the 
legions with him at Corfinium, dismissed that general with- 
out delay, and every one else who chose to go to Pompey, 
whom he then followed to Brundusium ; thus making it ap- 
parent, that he desired to put an end to war while the powers 
of the state were unimpaired, and negotiation open, rather 
than to overpower his opponents in their flight. Finding 
that the consuls had sailed, he returned to the city, and 
having represented in the senate, and in a general assembly 
of the people, the motives of his proceedings, and the cruel 
necessity under which he lay, in being compelled to take 
arms by the hostility of others, he resolved to go into Spain. 
His progress, rapid as it was, was for some time retarded by 
the conduct of Marseilles, which, with more honesty than 
good policy, unseasonably assumed the arbitration between 
those great men in arms ; a case in which such only ought 

1 XLIX. Lentulus saw that his own security, #c] "He was deeply in debt, 
from which he could not emerge as long as the state was undisturbed." Krause. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF EOMAN HISTOET. 487 

to interpose as have power to enforce submission to their 
award. The army, which was commanded by Afranius, who 
had been consul, and Petreius, who had been praetor, amazed 
at the energy and brilliancy of his progress, immediately 
surrendered itself to his pleasure. Both the commanders, 
and all men of every description who wished to follow them, 
were permitted to go to Pompey. 

LI. In the year following, when Dyrrachium, and the 
whole country round it, were occupied by Pompey' s camp, 
(who, by collecting about him legions from all the foreign 
provinces, auxiliary troops of horse and foot, and forces 
from kings, tetrarchs, and petty princes 1 , had formed a vast 
' army, and had, as he thought, guarded the sea with such a 
line of ships as would prevent Caesar from transporting his 
legions,) Caesar, proceeding with his usual despatch and suc- 
cess, suffered nothing to hinder him and his army from 
making good their passage by sea, whithersoever and when- 
soever he pleased. At first he pitched his camp almost close 
to Pompey' s, and soon after shut him up within a line of 
circumvallation and forts. Scarcity of provisions, however, 
began to be felt, and more severely by the besiegers than the 
besieged. In this state of things, Cornelius Balbus, with a 
spirit of enterprise almost incredible, went into the enemy's 
camp, and held frequent conferences with the consul Len- 
tulus, (who was undetermined at what price he would sell 
himself,) and thus opened the way for himself to those pre- 
ferments, by which he (not a mere sojourner in Spain, but a 
native Spaniard,) rose to a triumph and pontificate, and, 
from a private station, became a consul. Several battles 
followed with various success ; but one of them proved very 
favourable to Pompey' s party, Caesar's troops meeting a 
severe repulse. 

LIL Caesar then led his army into Thessaly, the des- 
tined scene of his future victory. Pompey, though his 
friends advised a very different course, (most of them recom- 
mending him to transfer the war into Italy ; and indeed no 
movement could have been more beneficial to his party; 
others persuading him to protract the contest, a plan which, 
from the increasing popularity of his cause, would daily be 

1 LI. Kings, tetrarchs, and petty princes] Regumque et tetrarcharum et dynas- 
tarum. See Sail., Cat., c. 20. 



488 YELLEIUS PATEECULUS. [Eook IT. 

more and more productive of good,) yet, yielding to his 
natural impetuosity, marched in pursuit of the enemy. The 
day of battle at Pharsalia, so fatal to the name of Borne, the 
vast effusion of blood on both sides, the two heads of ihe 
state meeting in deadly conflict, the extinction of one of the 
luminaries of the Commonwealth, and the slaughter of so 
many and so eminent men on the side of Pompey, the limits 
of this work do not allow me to describe at large. One 
thing must be observed, that as soon as Caesar saw Pompey's 
line give way, he made it his first and principal care (if I 
may use a military expression to which I have been accus- 
tomed) to disband 1 from his breast all considerations of party. 
O immortal gods ! what requital did this merciful man after- 
wards receive for his kindness then shown to Brutus ? No- 
thing would have been more admirable, more noble, more 
illustrious, than this victory, (for the nation did not miss 
one citizen, except those who fell in battle,) had not obsti- 
nacy defeated the exertions of compassion, as the conqueror 
granted life more freely than the vanquished received it. 

LIII. Pompey, having fled w r ith the two Lentuli, who had 
been consuls, his son Sextus, and Pavonius, formerly a praetor, 
all of whom chance had assembled in his company, (some 
advising him to retreat to Parthia, others to Africa, where 
he would find king Juba a most faithful supporter of his 
party,) determined at last to repair to Egypt ; a course to 
which he was prompted by his recollection of the services 
which he had rendered to the father of Ptolemy, who, rather 
a boy than a man, was now seated on the throne of Alex- 
andria. But who, w T hen his benefactor is in adversity, re- 
members his benefits ? Who thinks that any gratitude is due 
to the unfortunate ? Or when does a change of fortune not 
produce a change in attachments ? Men were despatched 
by the king, at the instigation of Theodotus and Achillas, to 

1 LII. Use a military expression — disband, #c] The text is here corrupt and 
defective. Kuhnken ridicules the notion of dimitteret being the verhum militare, 
as most critics have supposed, and thinks that Velleius wrote something like this : 
Neque prius neque antiquius quicquam hdbuit quam ut in omnes partes prcecones 
clamantes, parce civibus, ut militari et verbo et consuetudine utar, dimitteret. For 
a confirmation of this conjecture he refers to Appian, B. C, ii., p. 783; Suet. 
Caes., c. 75 ; Flor., iv., 2. The translation which I have given is borrowed from 
Baker. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF EOMAX HISTORY. 489 

meet Pompey on his arrival, (who was now accompanied in 
his flight by his wife Cornelia, having taken her on board at 
Mitylene,) and to desire him to remove from the transport- 
ship into a vessel which was come to receive him. Xo 
sooner had he done so, than he, the chief of all that bore 
the name of Boman, was murdered by the order and direction 
of an Egyptian slave ; an event which took place in the con- 
sulship of Caius Caesar and Pnblins Servilhis. Such was the 
end of a most npright and excellent man, in the fifty-eighth 
year of his age, and on the day before his birthday, after 
three consulships and as many triumphs, after subduing 
the whole world, and after reaching a degree of exaltation 
beyond which it is impossible to ascend ; fortune having 
made such a revolution in his condition, that he who lately 
wanted earth to conquer, could now scarcely find sufficient 
for a grave. 

Of those who have made a mistake of five years in the 
age of this great man, who lived almost in our own times, 
what can I say but that they have not given due attention 
to the matter, especially as the succession of years, from the 
consulship of Atilius and Servilius, was so easy to settle ? 
This I mention, not to censure others, but to escape censure 
myself. 

LIY. Yet the king, and those by whose influence he was 
governed, showed no more attachment to Caesar than they 
had shown to Pompey; for, at his coming, they made a 
treacherous attempt on his life, and afterwards were daring 
enough to make open war on him ; but they soon atoned for 
their conduct to both those great commanders, the living and 
the deceased, by suffering well-merited deaths. 

Pompey was no longer on earth, but his name still had 
influence everywhere. A strong devotion to his cause ex- 
cited a formidable war in Africa, conducted by king Juba, 
and by Scipio, who had been consul, and whom Pompey, two 
years before his death, had chosen for a father-in-law; their 
strength being augmented by Marcus Cato, who brought 
some legions to them, though with the utmost difficulty, by 
reason of the badness of the roads, and the scarcity of pro- 
visions, and who, when the soldiers offered him the supreme 
command, chose rather to act under a person of superior 
dignity. 

LV. My promise to be brief reminds me with what haste 



490 YELLEITJS PATEECULTJS. [Book II. 

I must pursue my narrative. Caesar, pushing his good for- 
tune, and sailing to Africa, of which the army of Pompey's 
party, after killing Curio, the leader of Caesar's adherents, 
had taken possession, fought there at first with various suc- 
cess, but afterwards with such as usually attended him, and 
the enemy's forces were obliged to yield. His clemency to 
the vanquished, on this occasion, was such as he had shown to 
those whom he had previously defeated. But when he had 
finished the war in Africa, another still more formidable de- 
manded his attention in Spain, (as to his conquest of Phar- 
naces, it scarcely added anything to his renown,) for Cnaeus 
Pompey, son of Pompey the Great, a young man of great 
energy in war, had formed there a powerful and formidable 
opposition; as multitudes, still revering the great fame of 
his father, flocked to his aid from every quarter of the earth. 
His usual fortune accompanied Caesar into Spain ; but no 
field of battle, more perilous or desperate, had he ever en- 
tered ; for, on one occasion, when his prospect of success 
seemed worse than doubtful, he dismounted from his horse, 
placed himself before the line of his retreating troops, and, 
after reproaching fortune for having preserved him for such 
an end, declared to his soldiers that he would not retire a 
step ; bidding them therefore consider the character and 
circumstances of the general whom they were going to 
desert. The battle was restored by the effect of shame 
rather than of courage ; and greater efforts were made by 
the leader than by his men. Cnaaus Pompey, who was found 
grievously wounded in a desert place, was slain. Labienus 
and Varus fell in the engagement. 

LVI. Caesar, victorious over all opposition, came home to 
Rome, and, what is almost incredible, granted pardon to all 
who had borne arms against him, and delighted the city with 
most magnificent exhibitions of gladiators and representa- 
tions of sea-fights, and of battles with cavalry, infantry, and 
even with elephants ; celebrating a feast, too, at which he en- 
tertained the people, and which lasted several days. He had 
five triumphs ; the figures displayed in that for Graul were 
made of citron wood ; in that for Pontus, of acanthus wood 1 ; in 

1 LVI. Acanthus wood] Acantho. The acanthus was a tree of the acacia 
kind, now generally supposed to be the same as the Mimosa Nilotica of Linnaeus, 
or " Egyptian thorn." See Plin., H. N., xxiv., 12 ; Miller's Gardener's Diet., Art. 
Acacia; Martyn on Virg. Georg., ii., 119. 



[Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF SOMAN HISTOET. 491 

that for Alexandria, of tortoise-shell 1 ; in that for Africa, of 
ivory ; and in that for Spain, of polished silver. The money 
arising from the spoils was somewhat more than six hundred 
thousand sestertia 3 . But this great man, who had used all 
his victories with so much mercy, was not allowed peaceable 
possession of supreme power more than five months ; for 
after returning to Borne in the month of October, he was 
killed on the ides of March by a band of conspirators under 
Brutus and Cassius ; the former of whom, though he had 
promised him a second consulship, he had not by that means 
secured to his interest, and the latter he had offended by 
putting him off to another time. They had even drawn into 
their murderous plot Decimus Brutus and Caius Trebonius, 
the most intimate of all his adherents, men who had been 
raised to the highest dignity by the success of his party, 
with several others of great note. 

Mark Antony, however, his colleague in the consulship, a 
man always ready for any daring deed, had excited a strong 
feeling against him, by placing on his head, as he was sitting 
in the Bostrum at the festival of Pan, a royal diadem, which 
Ceesar indeed pushed away, but in such a manner that he 
did not seem offended. 

LVII. By this event was shown the excellence of the 
advice of Hirtius and Pansa, who had always warned Caesar 
to preserve by arms the sovereignty which by arms he had 
acquired ; but he constantly declared, that he would rather 
die than live in constant fear of death ; and thus, while he 
expected to meet the same good feeling that he had shown 
to others, he was cut off by the ungrateful men around him. . 
The immortal gods had given him many presages and signs 
of his approaching danger ; for the aruspices had forewarned 
him carefully to beware of the ides of March ; his wife Cal- 
purnia, terrified by a vision in the night, besought him to 
stay at home that day ; and he received a paper from one 
that met him, containing an account of the conspiracy, but 
which he did not read. Surely the resistless power of fate, 

1 Tortoise-shell] " We must suppose that ihefercula, or frames on which the 
articles were carried in the procession, were inlaid with tortoise-shell, as is now 
the case with many articles of furniture." Krause. 

2 Six hundred thousand sestertia] Something more than 4,800,000/. 



492 TELLEIUS PATERCULUS. [Book II. 

when it determines to reverse a man's fortune, confounds his 
understanding ! 

LVIII. The year that they perpetrated this deed, Brutus 
and Cassius were praetors, and Decimus Brutus consul elect. 
These, with the body of the conspirators, attended by a band 
of gladiators belonging to Decimus Brutus, seized on the 
Capitol. On this Mark Antony the consul convened the 
senate. Cassius had proposed that Antony should be killed 
at the same time with Caesar, and that Caesar's will should 
be annulled ; but this was overruled by Brutus, who insisted 
that the citizens ought to seek no more than the blood of 
the tyrant ; for so, to palliate his own conduct, he thought 
proper to call Caesar. In the mean time, Dolabella, 
whom Caesar had destined for his successor in the consul- 
ship, laid hold on the fasces and badges of that office ; and 
Antony, as wishing to preserve peace, sent his own sons 
into the Capitol as hostages, and pledged his faith to the 
murderers of Caesar, that they might come down with safety. 
Then was proposed by Cicero, and approved by a resolution 
of the senate, the imitation of that famous decree of the 
Athenians, enacting a general oblivion of the past. 

LIX. Caesar's w r ill was then opened, by which he had 
adopted Cnaeus Octavius, grandson of his sister Julia, of 
whose origin, though he himself has anticipated me 1 , # * # I 
must yet say a few words. Caius Octavius, his father, was 
of a family which, though not patrician, was of a highly 
honourable equestrian rank. He possessed a sound under- 
standing and a virtuous disposition ; his conduct was dis- 
tinguished by probity, and his wealth was great. In stand- 
ing for the praetorship, he was chosen first among competitors 
of the highest character; and this honourable distinction 
gained him Atia, daughter of Julia, in marriage. On the 
expiration of his praetorship, the lots gave him the province 
of Macedonia, where he was honoured with the title of 
Imperator. On his way home to stand for the consulship 
he died, leaving a son, who was under the age of manhood. 
This youth, who was brought up in the house of his step- 

1 LIX. He himself has anticipated me] Prcevenit, ei * * * §c. " Vossius 
and Boeder rightly refer prcevenit to Augustus himself, and his commentaries on 
his life mentioned by Suetonius, Aug., c. 2." Krause. Some words, which intro- 
duce the account of Octavius's father, have been lost. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF EOMAN HISTOBX. 493 

father Philippus, Caius Caesar loved as if he were his own 
son ; and at the age of eighteen, as he had followed him to 
Spain, he made him his constant companion in the Spanish 
war; not suffering him to use any other quarters, or to 
travel in any other carriage than his own ; and, even while 
he was vet a boy, honoured him with the office of pontiff. 
When the civil wars were ended, in order to improve the 
young man's excellent capacity by a liberal education, he 
sent him to Apollonia to study, proposing afterwards to take 
him to the wars which he meditated against the Getae and 
Parthians. When the news of the murder of his uncle 
reached him, he received from the centurions of the legions 
in that neighbourhood an offer of their support, and that 
of the troops ; which Salvidienus and Agrippa advised him 
not to reject. Hastening to Eome, he found at Brundusium 
full accounts of the fall of Caesar, and of his will. On his 
approach to the city, he was met by immense crowds of his 
friends ; and when he was entering the gate, the orb of the 
sun over his head was seen regularly curved 1 into a circular 
form, and coloured like a rainbow, as if setting a crown on 
the head of a man who was soon to become so great. 

LX. His mother Atia and his step-father Philip were of 
opinion that he should not assume the name of Caesar, as 
being likely to excite jealous feelings towards him ; but the 
propitious fates of the state, and of the world, claimed him, 
under that name, as the founder and preserver of the Boman 
nation. His celestial mind accordingly spurned human 
counsels, determined to pursue the loftiest designs with 
danger rather than a humble course with safety, and choos- 
ing to follow the direction of an uncle, and that uncle Caesar, 
in preference to that of his step-father ; observing that it 
would be impious to think himself unworthy of a name of 
which Caesar had thought him worthy. 

The consul Antony at first met him with haughtiness, not 

1 The orb of the sun — regularly curved, cj*c] Soils orbis — curvatus cequaliter 
rotundatusque, in colorem arcus. It is not possible to explain these words at all 
satisfactorily. Suetonius, in speaking of the same occurrence, Aug., c. 95, says, 
Circulus ad speciem ccelestis arcus orbem solis ambiit ; and Seneca, Q. N., i., 2 ; 
Dion Cassius, xlv., 4 ; and Plin., H. N., ii., 28, allude to the matter in a similar 
way. Hence Hottinger, a friend of Herelius, conjectured that we should read 
cwrvatwnt cequaliter rotundatumque versicolorem arcum, §c. 



494 YELLEIUS PATERCTTLTJS. [Book II. 

indeed from contempt, but from fear; and after granting 
him an interview in Pompey's gardens, scarcely allowed 
him time to speak with him. Soon after, he spread ma- 
licious insinuations that Octavius was plotting against him ; 
the falsehood of which was detected to his disgrace. 

The madness of the consuls Antony and Dolabella soon 
burst forth into open acts of abominable tyranny. The sum 
of seven hundred thousand sestertia 1 , deposited by Caius 
Caesar in the temple of Ops, was seized by Antony, under 
colour of false insertions which he made in Caesar's regis- 
ters 3 . Everything had its price, the consul setting the 
Commonwealth to sale. He even resolved to seize on the 
province of Gaul, which had been decreed to Decimus 
Brutus, consul elect ; while Dolabella allotted the provinces 
beyond sea to himself. Between parties so discordant in 
their natures, and so opposite in their views, mutual hatred 
continually increased; and Caius Caesar, in consequence, 
was exposed to daily machinations on the part of Antony. 

LXI. The state, oppressed by the tyranny of Antony, 
lost all vigour ; every man felt indignation and grief, but 
none had courage to make resistance ; when Caius Caesar, 
in the beginning of his nineteenth year, by his wonderful 
exertions, and accomplishment of the most important mea- 
sures, displayed, while acting in a private character, a 
greater spirit than the senate in support of the republic. 
He called out his father's veterans, first from Calatia., and 
then from Casilinum ; and their example was followed by 
others, who came together in such numbers as quickly 
formed a regular army ; and when Antony met the troops, 
which he had ordered to come from the foreign provinces to 
Brundusium, a portion of them, consisting of the Martian 
and the fourth legions, having learned the wish of the 
senate, and the abilities of Caesar, took up their standards, 
and went off to join him. After honouring him with an 
equestrian statue, which at this day stands on the Bostrum, 
and testifies his age by its inscription, a compliment which, 
during three hundred years, was paid to none but Lucius 

1 LX. Seven hundred thousand sestertia] Something more than 5,650,000?. 

2 False insertions — in Caesar's registers] Actorum ejusdem insertis falsis, civi- 
tatibusqw * * * corrupti commentarii. I have omitted the last three words. 
Various emendations of the passage have been suggested, but to little purpose. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF ROMAN HISTORY. 495 

Sylla, Cnaeus Pompey, and Caius Caesar, the senate com- 
missioned him, in the character of propraetor, and in con- 
junction with the consuls elect, Hirtius and Pansa, to make 
war on Antony. This charge, he in his twentieth year exe- 
cuted with the greatest bravery in the neighbourhood of 
Mutina. Decimus Brutus was relieved from a siege ; and 
Antony was forced to quit Italy in disgraceful and solitary 
flight. One of the consuls, however, fell in the field, and 
the other died of a wound a few days after. 

LXH. Before Antony was obliged to flee, the highest 
honours were decreed by the senate, chiefly at the suggestion 
of Cicero, to Caesar and his army ; but, as soon as their fears 
were removed, their real feeling discovered itself, and their 
favour to Pompey's party was renewed. To Brutus and 
Cassius were decreed those provinces, which they themselves, 
without any authority from the senate, had already seized ; 
those who furnished them with troops were commended, and 
all the foreign settlements were committed to their direction. 
For Marcus Brutus and Caius Cassius, at one time fearing 
the arms of Antony, at another time counterfeiting fear in 
order to increase the odium against him, had published 
declarations, that they would willingly live even all their 
lives in exile, if harmony could by that means be established 
in the republic ; that they would never afford occasion for a 
civil war, but were satisfied with the honour which they 
enjoyed in the consciousness of what they had done ; and, 
leaving Borne and Italy, with settled and similar intentions, 
they had, without any public commission, possessed them- 
selves of the provinces and armies ; and pretending that 
wherever they were, there was the Commonwealth, had re- 
ceived from such as were willing to gratify them, the sums 
of money which used to be transmitted to Borne from the 
foreign provinces by the quaestors. All these proceedings 
were recited and approved in decrees of the senate. To 
Decimus Brutus, because he had escaped with life by the 
kindness of another, a triumph was even voted. The bodies 
of Hirtius and Pansa were honoured with a funeral at the 
public expense. So little regard was paid to Caesar, that the 
deputies who were sent to the army, were directed to ad- 
dress themselves to the soldiers in his absence. But the 
army was not so ungrateful as the senate; for, though 



496 YELLEIUS PATEBCULTJS. [Book II. 

Caesar bore the affront, pretending not to notice it, the 
soldiers refused to listen to any directions unless their 
general were present. It was at this time that Cicero, out 
of his rooted love of Pompey's party, gave his opinion, that 
Caesar was " laudandus et tollendus 1 ;" saying one thing 
while he wished that another should he understood. 

LXIII. Meanwhile Antony, having fled across the Alps, 
and meeting a repulse in a conference with Lepidus, (who 
had been clandestinely made pontifex maximus in the 
room of Caius Caesar, and though appointed to the govern- 
ment of Spain, still delayed in Gaul,) came afterwards fre- 
quently before the eyes of the soldiers, by whom, as any 
commander was preferable to Lepidus, and Antony, when 
sober, was superior to many, he was admitted at the rear of 
the camp through a breach which they made in the rampart ; 
but while he took the entire direction of affairs, he still 
yielded to Lepidus the title of commander. About the time 
that he entered the camp, Juventius Laterensis, a man 
whose life was consistent with his death, having earnestly 
dissuaded Lepidus from joining Antony, who had been pro- 
claimed a rebel, and finding his counsel disregarded, ran 
himself through with his sword. Plancus, with his usual 
duplicity, after long debating in his mind which party he 
should follow, and with much difficulty forming a resolu- 
tion, supported for some time Decimus Brutus, (who was 
consul elect, and his own colleague,) boasting of acting thus 
in letters to the senate; but soon after betrayed him. 
Asinius Pollio was steadfast in his purpose, faithful to the 
Julian party, and adverse to that of Pompey. Both these 
officers made over their troops to Antony. 

LXIV. Decimus Brutus, being first deserted by Plancus, 
and then endangered by his plots, and seeing his troops, too, 
gradually forsaking him, betook himself to flight, and was 
slain by some of Antony's emissaries, in the house of a 
friend, a nobleman named Camelus, thus suffering just 
punishment for his conduct to Caius Caesar, to whom he 
was under the greatest obligations. For, though he had 

1 LXII. Laudandus et tollendus] The play on the word tollendus cannot be 
rendered. Tollo means not only to raise or extol, but to take out of the ivay. 
It is as if we should say of a man that merits hanging, that he deserves to be 
exalted. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF EOMAN HISTORY. 497 

been the most intimate of all his friends, he became his 
murderer, and threw on his benefactor the odium of that 
fortune of which he had reaped the benefit. He thought it 
just that he should retain the favours which he had received 
from Caesar, and that Caesar, who had given them, should 
perish. It was during these times that Marcus Tullius, in 
a series of orations, branded the memory of Antony with 
eternal infamy. He, indeed, assailed Antony in splendid 
and noble language, but Canutius, a tribune, attacked him 
with constant abuse. Their defence of liberty cost both of 
them their lives ; the proscription commenced with the blood 
of the tribune, and ended with that of Cicero, as if even 
Antony were satiated with the death of such a man. Lepi- 
dus was then declared an enemy by the senate, as had pre- 
viously been the case with Antony. 

LXV. A correspondence by letter was then commenced 
between Lepidus, Caesar, and Antony. Hints were thrown 
out of an accommodation, while Antony frequently reminded 
Caesar how hostile to him Pompey's party was, to what a 
height of power it had already arisen, and with what zeal, 
on the part of Cicero, Brutus and Cassius were extolled ; 
declaring that if Caesar disdained to come to terms with 
him, he would join his power to that of Brutus and Cassius, 
who were already at the head of seventeen legions ; at the 
same time remarking, that Caesar was under stronger ob- 
ligations to revenge a father 1 than he to revenge a friend. 
Hence a league of partnership in power was concluded ; and 
in compliance with the exhortations and entreaties of the 
armies, an affinity was contracted between Caesar and An- 
tony, the step-daughter of Antony being betrothed to 
Caesar. Caesar entered on the consulship with Quintus 
Pedius, on the day before he completed his twentieth year, 
the twenty-second of September, seven hundred and eleven 
years after the building of the city, and seventy-two before 
the beginning of your consulate, Marcus Vinicius. This 
year saw Ventidius assume the consular robe, immediately 
after wearing the praetorian, in that city through which he 

1 LXV. To revenge a father, #c.~\ It was more incumbent on Octavius to 
revenge the death of Julius Caesar than on Antony ; Caesar being his adopted 
son, Antony only his friend. 

2k 



498 VELLEITJS PATERCTTLTTS. [Book II. 

had been led in triumph among other Picenian prisoners. 
He had afterwards also a triumph. 

LXVI. While Antony and Lepidus were greatly enraged, 
"both of them having, as we have said, been declared public 
enemies, and while both were better pleased at hearing what 
they had suffered, than what they had gained, the practice 
of proscription, on the model given by Sylla, was, in spite of 
Caesar's opposition, which was vain against the two, revived. 
Nothing reflects more disgrace on that period, than that 
either Cresar should have been forced to proscribe any per- 
son, or that Cicero should have been proscribed by him, and 
that the advocate of the public should have been cut off by 
the villany of Antony, no one defending him, who for so 
many years had defended as well the cause of the public as 
the causes of individuals. But you have gained nothing, 
Mark Antony, (for the indignation bursting from my mind 
and heart, compels me to say what is at variance with the 
character of this work,) you have gained nothing, I say, by 
paying the hire for closing those divine lips, and cutting off 
that noble head, and by procuring, for a fatal reward, the 
death of a man, once so great as a consul, and the preserver 
of the Commonwealth. Tou deprived Marcus Cicero of a 
life full of trouble, and of a feeble old age; an existence 
more unhappy under your ascendancy, than death under 
your triumvirate ; but of the fame and glory of his actions 
and writings you have been so far from despoiling him that 
you have even increased it. He lives, and will live in the 
memory of all succeeding ages. And as long as this body 
of the universe, whether framed by chance, or by wisdom, or 
by whatever means, which he, almost alone of the Romans, 
penetrated with his genius, comprehended in his imagina- 
tion, and illustrated by his eloquence, shall "continue to 
exist, it will carry the praise of Cicero as its companion in 
duration. All posterity will admire his writings against 
you, and execrate your conduct towards him ; and sooner 
shall the race of man fail in the world, than his name decay. 

LXVII. The calamity of this whole period no one can 
sufficiently deplore ; much less can any one find language to 
express it. One thing demands observation, that there pre- 
vailed towards the proscribed the utmost fidelity in their 
wives, a moderate share of it in their freedmen, some portion 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF KOMAN HISTOBY. 

in their slaves, and in their sons none at all ; so intolerable 
to men is the delay of hope, on whatever grounds it be con- 
ceived. That nothing, however, should be left inviolate, 
Antony, as if for an attraction and excitement to atrocities, 
proscribed his uncle Lucius Caesar, and Lepidus his bro- 
ther Paulus. Plancus, too, had interest enough to pro- 
cure a like sentence upon his brother Plotius Plancus. 
Among the jests of the soldiers, accordingly, who, amidst 
the curses of their countrymen, followed the chariots of 
Lepidus and Plancus, they made use of this expression, 
" The consuls triumph over Germans," {that is, brothers 1 ,) 
"not over Gauls. " 

LXVIII. Let us here mention an affair which was omitted 
in its proper place; for the character of the agent does 
not allow a screen to be cast over his act. "While Csesar 
was deciding by arms the fate of the empire at Phar- 
salia, Marcus Cselius, a man nearly resembling Curio in 
eloquence and ability, but his superior in both, and not less 
ingeniously vicious, proposed in his prsetorship, as he could 
not be saved by quiet and moderate means, (for his property 
was in a more desperate state than even his mind,) a law for 
the relief of debtors ; nor could he be deterred from his pur- 
pose by the influence of the senate or the consul, but called 
to his aid Annius Milo, (who Avas incensed against the 
Julian party, because he had not obtained a repeal of his 
banishment,) and endeavoured to raise a sedition in the city, 
and secretly to stir up war in the country ; however, by the 
authority of the senate, he was first banished, and soon after 
cut off by the arms of the consuls near Thurii. Similar 
fortune attended Milo in a similar attempt ; for while he 
was besieging Compsa, a town of the Hirpini, he was killed 
by the stroke of a stone, and paid the penalty of his offences 
against Publius Clodius, and against his country, on which 
he was making war. He was a restless character, and carried 
his bravery even to rashness. But since I am reverting to 
things omitted, let me observe, that Marullus Epidius and 
Plavius Csesetius, tribunes of the people, having used in- 
temperate and unseasonable liberties in prejudice of Caius 
Caesar, and having charged him with aspiring to royalty, 

1 LXVII. Germans, (that is, brothers,) #c] De Germanis. A play on the 
Latin word Germanus. 

2k2 



500 YELLEIUS PATEKCULUS. [Book II. 

were very near feeling the force of absolute power. Yet 
the anger of the prince, though often provoked, went no 
further than this, that, satisfied with a sentence of disgrace 
from the censors, instead of the punishment which a dictator 
might inflict, he banished them from the country, declaring 
that it was a great unhappiness to him, to be obliged either 
to depart from his nature, or suffer his dignity to be violated. 
But I must return to the course of my narrative. 

LXIX. In Asia, Dolabella, having by a stratagem deluded 
Caius Trebonius, who had been consul, and with whom he 
was at enmity, had slain him at Smyrna. Trebonius was a 
man most ungrateful for the kindnesses of Caesar, and a par- 
ticipator in the murder of him by whom he had been raised 
to the dignity of consul. In Syria, Caius Cassius, having 
received some legions from Statius Murcus and Crispus 
Marcius, who had been praetors, and were at the head of a 
very powerful force, shut up Dolabella in Laodicea, (for he, 
finding Asia pre-occupied, had proceeded into Syria,) and, 
having taken the town, put him to death, (Dolabella, with 
spirit enough, holding out his neck to the stroke of his 
slave,) and thus acquired the command often legions in that 
country. In Macedonia, Marcus Brutus had drawn over to 
his side the legions of Caius, the brother of Mark Antony, 
and those of Vatinius, near Dyrrachium, who willingly 
joined him. Antonius he had attacked in the field ; Va- 
tinius he had overawed by the dignity of his character ; as 
Brutus was reckoned preferable to any leader of the times, 
and Vatinius was considered inferior to every one ; a man in 
whom deformity of person vied with depravity of mind, so 
that his soul seemed lodged in an habitation perfectly 
adapted to it. He was seven legions strong. 

By the Pedian law, which the consul Pedius, Caesar's 
colleague, had proposed, a sentence of banishment had been 
passed on all persons concerned in the murder of Caesar his 
father. At that time, Capito, my uncle, a man of senatorial 
rank, seconded Agrippa in the prosecution of Caius Cassius. 
"While these transactions were passing in Italy, Cassius by 
active and successful operations, had got possession of 
Khodes, an enterprise of extreme difficulty. Brutus had 
subdued the Lycians, and both of them had then marched 
their armies into Macedonia, while Cassius, on every occa- 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF EOMAN HISTOET. 501 

sion, acting against his nature, exceeded even Brutus in 
clemency. You cannot find two men whom fortune more 
propitiously attended, or whom, as if tired of them, she 
sooner deserted, than Brutus and Cassius. 

LXX. Caesar and Antony then transported their armies 
into Macedonia, and near the city of Philippi came to a 
general engagement with Brutus and Cassius. The wing 
that Brutus commanded, driving the enemy from the field, 
took Caesar's camp ; for Caesar himself, though in a very 
weak state of health, performed the duties of a commander ; 
notwithstanding he was urged by his physician, Artorius, 
who had been alarmed by a plain warning in a dream, not 
to remain in the camp. But the wing which Cassius com- 
manded, being routed with great loss, retreated to higher 
ground; when Cassius, judging of his colleague's fortune by 
his own, despatched a veteran, with orders to bring him an 
account what body of men it was that were coming towards 
him ; but the veteran being slow in bringing the intelligence, 
and the band of men, marching hastily np, being just at 
hand, (neither their faces nor their standards being distin- 
guishable by reason of the dust,) Cassius, supposing them 
enemies ready to rush on him, covered his head with his 
robe, and intrepidly presented his extended neck to his 
freedman. The head of Cassius had fallen, when the veteran 
returned with intelligence, that Brutus was victorious ; and, 
seeing the body of his general extended on the earth, he 
exclaimed, " I will follow him whom my tardiness has killed," 
and immediately fell on his sword. In a few days after, 
Brutus engaged the enemy again, and, being worsted in the 
field, and retreating to a hill in the night, he prevailed on 
Strato of iEgeum, an intimate friend, to lend him his hand 
in effecting his death ; when, raising his left arm over his 
head, and holding the point of his sword in his right hand, 
lie applied it to the left side of his breast, at the very spot 
where the heart beats, and throwing himself on the weapon, 
was transfixed by the one effort, and immediately expired. 

LXXI. Messala Corvinus, a young man of shining cha- 
racter, who, next to Brutus and Cassius, possessed the 
greatest influence of any in the camp, and whom some soli- 
cited to take the command, chose to be indebted for safety 
to Caesar's kindness, rather than to try any further the 



502 YELLEITJS PATEKCULTJS. [Book II. 

chance of arms. ISTor did any circumstance attending his 
victories afford greater joy to Caesar, than the saving of Cor- 
vinus ; nor was there ever an instance of greater gratitude, 
or more affectionate attachment, than Corvinus snowed to 
Caesar in return. No war was ever more stained with the 
blood of illustrious men. The son of Cato fell in it ; and 
the same fate carried off Lucullus and Hortensius, sons of 
the most eminent men in the state. Varro, when ready to 
die, predicted with great freedom of speech, in mockery of 
Antony, several circumstances respecting his death, which 
were well suited to his character, and which really came to 
pass. Livius Drusus, father of Julia Augusta, and Quintilius 
Varus, did not even try the mercy of the enemy ; for Drusus 
slew himself in his tent ; and Varus, after decking himself 
with all the insignia of his honours, was slain by the hand of 
a freedman, whom he compelled to be his executioner. 

LXXII. Such was the end assigned by fortune to the 
party of Marcus Brutus, who was then in his thirty-seventh 
year, and whose mind had been incorrupt till the day which 
obscured all his virtues by the rashness of one act. Cassius 
was as much the better commander, as Brutus was the better 
man. Of the two, you would rather have Brutus for a 
friend ; as an enemy, you would stand more in dread of 
Cassius. In the one there was greater ability, in the other 
greater virtue. Had they been successful, it would have 
been as much for the interest of the state to have had Bru- 
tus for its ruler rather than Cassius, as it was to have Caesar 
rather than Antony. Cnaeus Domitius, father of Lucius 
Domitius, whom we lately saw 1 , and who was a man of very 
eminent and distinguished integrity, and grandfather of the 
present excellent youth of the same name, seized several 
ships, and, with a numerous train of such as chose to follow 
his guidance, committed himself to flight and fortune, look- 
ing for no other leader of the party than himself. Statius 
Murcus, who commanded a fleet, and had charge of the 
sea, deserted with all the troops and ships entrusted to him, 
and joined Sextus Pompey, son of Cnaeus the Great; who, 
on his return from Spain, had by force gained possession of 
Sicily. The proscribed, whom fortune had rescued from im- 

1 LXXII. Whom we lately saw] Nuper a nobis visi. He had died a little 
before. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF K0MA5T HISTORY. 503 

mediate danger, flocked to hini from the camp of. Brutus, 
from Italy, and from other parts of the world ; for to those 
who had no position in the state 1 , any leader appeared suffi- 
cient, as Fortune did not give them an option, but merely 
pointed out a refuge ; and to those who are fleeing from a 
destructive tempest, any anchoring-place serves for a harbour. 

LXXIII. Sextus was quite illiterate, and in his language 
barbarous ; but he was of a bold spirit, prompt to act, and 
quick to judge. In sincerity, however, he was very unlike 
his father. He was a freedman among his own freedmen 3 ; 
a slave to his slaves ; envying men of dignity, to become 
subservient to the meanest. To this young man, who had 
been recalled, after Antony quitted Mutina, from Spain, 
where Asinius Pollio, who had been praetor, had carried on 
the war against him with much honour, the senate, which 
consisted almost wholly of Pompey's partisans, restored, at 
the same time that they decreed the transmarine provinces 
to Brutus and Cassius, the possession of his father's pro- 
perty, and gave him the command of the sea-coast. Having 
possessed himself of Sicily, as we have just said, he filled up, 
by receiving slaves and vagabonds into his troops, a com- 
plement of several legions ; and having, by the aid of Menas 
and Menecrates, two of his father's freedmen who com- 
manded his fleet, ravaged the sea with piracies and rapine, 
he made use of the plunder to support himself and his fol- 
lowers, without being ashamed to disturb with the atroci- 
ties of freebooters those seas which had been cleared of 
them by the arms and exertions of his father. 

LXXIV. The party of Brutus and Cassius being crushed, 
Antony stayed behind, for the purpose of settling the foreign 
provinces, while Caesar returned to Italy, which he found in 
a much more turbulent state than he had expected. For 
the consul Lucius Antony, a partaker in all his brother's 
vices, but destitute of the virtues which sometimes appeared 
in him, had, sometimes, by inveighing against Caesar in the 
hearing of the veterans, and sometimes by inciting those to 
arms, who had not been included in the regular distribution 
of lands and the nomination of colonists, collected a large 
army. On the other side, Fulvia the wife of Antony, in 

1 No position in the state] Nullum habentibus statum. See note on ii., 2. 

2 LXXIII. A freedman among his own freedmen] Libertorum suorum libertus. 
He lowered himself, and laid himself under obligatiocs to them. 



504 YELLEITJS PATERCTJLTJS. [Book II. 

whom there was nothing feminine but the form, was throw- 
ing everything into confusion and tumult. She had chosen 
Praeneste as the seat of war. Lucius Antony, forced to 
give way in every quarter to Caesar's superior strength, 
retired to Perusia; while Plancus, a favourer of Antony's 
party, rather held out hopes of assistance than afforded him 
any. Caesar, relying on his courage, and pursuing his good 
fortune, took Perusia, and dismissed Antony unhurt. On 
the Perusians great severities were inflicted, rather through 
the violence of the soldiers than with the consent of their 
commander. The city was burnt ; but of this conflagration 
Macedonicus, one of the principal inhabitants, was the 
author, who, after setting fire to his house and effects, 
stabbed himself, and fell amid the flames. 

LXXV. At the same time an insurrection broke out in 
Etruria, which, under pretence of serving those who had 
lost their lands, Tiberius Claudius Nero, who had been 
praetor and was then pontifex, and who was the father of 
Tiberius Caesar, and a man of great spirit, accomplishments, 
and abilities, employed himself in fomenting. This party 
was dispersed and quelled on the arrival of Caesar. Who 
can sufficiently wonder at the changes of fortune, and the 
uncertain vicissitudes of human affairs ? "Who must not 
either hope, or fear, some alteration in his present circum- 
stances, or something contrary to what is expected ? Li via, 
the daughter of Drusus Claudianus, a man of the highest 
distinction and courage ; Livia, I say, the most eminent in 
birth, virtue, and beauty, of all the Eoman ladies, whom we 
subsequently saw the wife of Augustus, and, after his trans- 
lation to the gods, his priestess and daughter 1 , was now flying 
from the troops of Caesar, who was soon to be her consort, 
carrying in her bosom a child scarcely two years old, the 
present Tiberius Caesar, the supporter of the Eoman empire ; 
and thus, passing through unfrequented roads, to avoid the 
swords of the soldiers, accompanied only by a single attend- 
ant, that her flight might the more easily be concealed, she 
made her way to the sea, and sailed, with her husband JSTero, 
over to Sicily. 

LXXVI. The testimony which I would give to a stranger, 
I will not withhold from my own grandfather. Caius Yel- 

1 LXXV. Daughter] By adoption into the Julian family according to the 
will of Augustus. Tacit. Ann., i., 8 ; Suet. Aug., 101. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OP EOMAN HISTORY. 505 

leius had been chosen by Cnaeus Pompey in the most honour- 
able place among the three hundred and sixty judges ; he 
had been prefect of the artificers under him, Marcus Brutus, 
and Tiberius JS"ero, and was a man inferior to none. Being 
in Campania, at the departure of Xero from Naples, whose 
party, through intimate friendship for him, he had supported, 
and being unable, from the pressure of age and weakness of 
body to follow him, he run himself through with his own 
sword. 

Caesar allowed Fulvia to depart from Italy in safety, and 
Plancus to accompany her in her flight. Asinius Pollio, 
with seven legions, had long retained Venetia in subjection 
to Antony, and had performed many and brilliant exploits at 
Altinum, and in other parts of that country ; and, as he was 
now marching toward Antony, he prevailed on Domitius 
(who, having, as we said before, quitted the camp of Brutus 
on the death of that general, was still undecided in his 
movements, and at the head of a fleet of his own,) to join 
Antony's party ; Domitius being induced to take this step 
by Pollio' s representations and solemn assurances. By this 
proceeding, whoever forms a fair judgment, must allow that 
no less benefit was conferred by Pollio on Antony than had 
been bestowed by Antony on Pollio. Antony's arrival in 
Italy soon after, and Caesar's preparations to oppose him, 
excited apprehensions of war ; but an accommodation was 
effected near Brundusium. About this time, the wicked 
schemes of Salvidienus Rufus were detected. This man, 
sprung from the most obscure parentage, was not satisfied 
with having received the highest honours, with being the next 
after Cnaeus Pompey and Caesar, and with having been raised 
from the equestrian rank to the consulship, but would even 
have mounted to such an height, as to see both Caesar and 
the Commonwealth beneath him. 

LXXVII. In consequence of the general expostulations 
of the people, who were sorely distressed by a scarcity of 
provisions occasioned by the depredations committed at sea, 
a treaty was likewise concluded with Sextus Pompey at Mi- 
senum ; who, entertaining Caesar and Antony on board his 
ship, observed with some humour, that he was giving a 
supper in his own Ccmnos 1 , alluding to the name of the 

1 LXXVII. In bis own Carinas'] In Carinis suis. A pun on cari?ice } ships, 



506 YELLEITJS PATERCTJLTJS. [Book II. 

street in which stood his father's house, then occupied by 
Antony. In this treaty it was resolved to assign Sicily and 
Achaia to Pompey ; but with this his restless mind could 
not be long content ; and the only advantage that his coming 
produced to his country was, that he stipulated for the recal 
and safety of all the proscribed, and of others who, for 
various reasons, had taken refuge with him. This stipula- 
tion restored to the republic, among other illustrious men, 
Claudius Nero, Marcus Silanus, Sentius Saturninus, Arun- 
tius, and Titius. Statius Murcus, who, by joining Pompey 
with his famous fleet, had doubled his strength, he loaded 
with false accusations, because Menas and Menecrates had 
disdained such a man as a colleague, and put him to death in 
Sicily. 

LXXVIII. At this period, Mark Antony married Octavia, 
Caesar's sister. Pompey returned to Sicily, Antony to the 
transmarine provinces, which Labienus, who had gone from 
the camp of Brutus to the Parthians, had brought an army 
of that people into Syria, and had put to death Antony's 
deputy, had disturbed with violent commotions ; but, through 
the courage and good conduct of Ventidius, he was cut off, 
together with the Parthian troops, and their king's son Pa- 
corus, a young prince iiniversally celebrated. Meanwhile, 
Caesar, lest, in such quiet times, idleness, the greatest foe to 
discipline, should debilitate the soldiery, made frequent ex- 
cursions throughout Illyricum and Dalmatia ; and, by inuring 
the men to hardships, and training them in action, confirmed 
their strength. At this time Domitius Calvinus, being, on 
the expiration of his consulship, made governor of Spain, 
gave an instance of strict discipline, comparable to the usage 
of old times ; for he put to death by the bastinado a centu- 
rion of the first rank, named Yibillius, for having shamefully 
fled in the field of battle. 

LXXIX. As the fleet and fame of Pompey increased 
daily, Caesar resolved to take on himself the weight of the 
war against him. To build ships, to collect soldiers and 
seamen, and to train them in naval exercises and evolutions, 
was the charge of Marcus Agrippa, a man of distinguished 
courage, proof against toil, watching, and danger ; who knew 

which was also the name of an open place, or street, in Eome. Romano que for o 
et lautis mugire Carinis. Virg. iEn., viii., 361. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF ROMAN HISTORY. 507 

perfectly well how to obey, that is, to obey one ; others, he 
certainly wished to command : a general, in all his proceed- 
ings, averse to delay, and making action keep pace with 
deliberation. Having built a very fine fleet in the Avernian 
and Lucrine lakes, he brought, by daily practice, both soldiers 
and seamen to a thorough knowledge of military and naval 
business. With this fleet, Caesar (having first, however, 
with omens, propitious to the state, espoused Livia, who was 
given to him in marriage by Nero her former husband.) 
commenced hostilities against Pompey and Sicily. But For- 
tune, on this occasion, gave a severe shock to him who was 
invincible by human power ; for a storm, arising from the 
south-west, shattered and dispersed the greater part of his 
fleet near Velia and the promontory of Palinurus. This 
event occasioned a delay in the prosecution of the war, which 
was afterwards carried on with uncertain success on Caesar's 
part, and sometimes with danger. For his fleet suffered 
severely in a second storm at the same place, and although 
in the first naval engagement at Mylae, in which Agrippa 
commanded, the issue was favourable, yet in consequence of 
the unexpected arrival of the enemy's fleet, a heavy loss was 
sustained at Tauromenium under Caesar's eye, nor was his 
person unmenaced by danger; as the legions, which had 
been landed with Cornificius, his lieutenant-general, were 
nearly surprised by Pompey. But the fortune of this 
hazardous juncture was amended by steady courage ; for in 
a general engagement at sea, Pompey lost nearly all his 
ships, and was forced to fly to Asia, where, by order of Mark 
Antony, to whom he applied for succour, while he was acting 
a confused part between the general and the suppliant, at 
one time supporting his dignity, at another begging his life, 
he was slain by Titius ; who, some time afterwards, when he 
was celebrating games in Pompey' s theatre, was driven out 
by the execrations of the people, so strong had continued 
the detestation which he had incurred by such a deed, from 
the exhibition which he himself had given. 

LXXX. In prosecuting the war against Pompey, Caesar 
had summoned Lepidus from Africa, with twelve legions 
containing half their complement of men. This man, the 
vainest of human beings, who merited not by a single good 
quality so long an indulgence of fortune, had taken the com- 



508 VELLEIUS PATERCULUS. [Book II. 

mand, as he happened to be nearer to them than any other 
leader, of the troops of Pompey, who, however, were at- 
tracted, not by his influence or honour, but by Caesar's ; and 
inflated with vanity at the number of the legions, which was 
more than twenty, he proceeded to such a degree of mad- 
ness, that, though he had been a useless attendant on an- 
other's victory, which he had long retarded by dissenting 
from Caesar's plans, and constantly urging measures different 
from those recommended by others, he yet claimed the whole 
credit of the success as his own, and even had the assurance 
to send notice to Caesar to quit Sicily. Sut neither by the 
Scipios, nor by any of the ancient Roman commanders, was a 
more resolute act ever attempted or executed, than was now 
performed by Caesar. For, though he was unarmed and in 
his cloak, carrying with him nothing but his name, he went 
into the camp of Lepidus, and avoiding the weapons which 
were thrown at him by the order of that infamous man, one 
of which pierced through his mantle, he boldly seized the 
eagle of a legion. Then might be seen the difference be- 
tween the commanders. The armed troops followed the 
unarmed leader, and Lepidus, in the tenth year after he had 
arrived at a height of power not at all merited by his con- 
duct, being deserted by Fortune and his troops, wrapped 
himself up in a black cloak, and, passing unobserved among 
the hindmost of the crowd that flocked about Caesar, pros- 
trated himself at his feet. His life, and the disposal of his 
property, were granted to his entreaties ; his dignity, which 
he was ill qualified to support, was taken from him. 

LXXXI. A sudden mutiny then broke out in the army ; 
for when troops consider their own great numbers, they are 
apt to revolt from discipline, and to scorn to ask what they 
think themselves able to obtain by force ; but it was soon 
quelled, partly by the firmness, and partly by the liberality 
of the prince. A grand addition was made at this time to 
the colony of Capua. Its lands were public property ; and, 
in exchange for these, others, producing revenues of much 
larger value, to the amount of twelve hundred sestertia 1 , 
w r ere assigned them in the island of Crete ; a promise was 
also given to them of the aqueduct, which to this day is an 

1 LXXXI. Twelve hundred sestertia] About 10,000/. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF BOMAJT HISTORY. 509 

exceedingly fine ornament, productive of both health and 
pleasure. 

Agrippa, for his singular services in this war, vras rewarded 
with the distinction of a naval crown, an honour never before 
conferred on any Roman. Caesar then returned victorious 
to Rome, and a great number of houses having been pur- 
chased by his agents, for the purpose of enlarging his own, 
he declared that he intended them for public uses, and an- 
nounced his purpose of building a temple to Apollo, sur- 
rounded with porticos, which he afterwards erected with ex- 
traordinary magnificence. 

LXXXII 1 . During this summer, in which Caesar so hap- 
pily quelled the war in Sicily, fortune changed in the east, 
as well to his prejudice as that of the Commonwealth. For 
Antony, at the head of thirteen legions, having entered Ar- 
menia and Media, and marching through those countries 
against the Parthians, had to encounter their king in the 
field. At first he lost two legions, with all their baggage 
and engines, with Statianus, one of his lieutenant-generals ; 
afterwards, he himself, to the great hazard of the whole army, 
became often involved in difficulties from which he despaired 
of escape ; and when he had lost no less than a fourth part 
of his soldiers, he was saved by the advice and fidelity of a 
captive Eoman. This man had been made a prisoner when 
the army of Crassus was cut off, but as this change in his 
condition had produced no alteration in his feelings, he 
came by night to an outpost of the Romans, and gave them 
warning not to proceed by the road which they intended, but 
to make their escape through a woody part of the country. 
This proved the preservation of Mark Antony and his legions, 
out of which, however, and the whole army, was lost, as we 
have said, one fourth part of the soldiers, and one third of 
the servants and slaves ; while of the baggage hardly any- 
thing was saved. Yet Antony called this flight of his, because 
he escaped from it with life, a victory. In the third year 

1 LXXXII. The commencement of this chapter, in which Krause retains the 
old, unintelligible reading, is translated according to the emendation of Ruhnken: 
Qua cestate Ccesar tarn prospere sepelivit in Sicilld helium, fortuna in Ccesare et 
republicd mutavit ad Orienlem. This is the best of all the corrections that have 
been proposed ; though the words in C&sare et republicd, as a Gottingen reviewer 
observes, (Ephem. Lit., 1799, p. 120,) will hardly satisfy every reader. 



510 TELLER! S PATEECULUS. [Book II. 

after, having returned into Armenia, and having, by some 
artifice, got its king Artavasdes into his power, he threw him 
into chains, which, not to fail in respect for him, he made of 
gold. But his passion for Cleopatra daily increasing, as well 
as the strength of those vices which are ever nourished by 
wealth, licence, and flattery, he determined to make war upon 
his country. Previously, how r ever, he had given orders that he 
should be called the new Father Bacchus ; after riding in his 
chariot, in the character of Bacchus, through the city of 
Alexandria, with a chaplet of ivy on his head, a golden- 
coloured robe, a thyrsus in his hand, and buskins on his 
feet. 

LXXXIII. "While Antony was making preparations for 
war, Plancus, not from a belief that he was choosing the 
right side, or from love of Caesar or of the Commonwealth, 
for to both he was ever a foe, but from being infected with 
treason as a disorder, (having previously been the meanest 
flatterer of the queen, more obsequious than any slave, the 
letter-carrier of Antony, the prompter and actor of the vilest 
obscenities, venal to all men and for all purposes, and having 
at a banquet represented Grlaucus in a dance, naked and 
painted green, carrying on his head a chaplet of reeds, 
dragging a tail after him, and crawling on his knees,) formed 
the resolution, on being coldly regarded by Antony, because 
of certain plain proofs of his dishonesty, to desert to Caesar. 
He afterwards construed the clemency of the conqueror into 
a proof of his own merit, alleging that Caesar had approved 
what he had only pardoned. Titius soon followed the ex- 
ample of this uncle of his. One day, when Plancus, in the 
senate, charged Antony in his absence, whom he had but re- 
cently deserted, with many foul enormities, Coponius, who 
had been praetor, and was a man of high character, observed 
with some humour, " Surely Antony did a great many things 
the day before you left him." 

LXXXIV. Soon after, in the consulate of Caesar and 
Messala Corvinus, the decisive contest was fought at Actium, 
where, long before the engagement, the victory of the Julian 
party was certain. On one side, both the soldiers and the 
commander were full of energy; on the other, everything 
showed want of spirit ; on the one, the seamen were in full 
strength ; on the other, they were greatly weakened by want 






Book II.] COMPENDIUM OP EOMAN HISTOBY. 511 

of provisions ; on the one, the ships were moderate in size 
and active ; on the opposite, more formidable only in ap- 
pearance. Erom the one side not a man deserted to Antony ; 
from the other, deserters came daily to Caesar. Besides, in 
the very presence and view of Antony's fleet, Lencas was 
stormed by Marcus Agrippa, Patrae taken, Corinth seized, 
and the enemy's fleet worsted twice before the final decision. 
King Amyntas 1 , adopting the better and more profitable side, 
(for Dellius 2 , adhering to his nsnal practice # # # # ,) 
and Cnaeus Domitius, a man highly esteemed, and the only 
one of Antony's party who never addressed the queen but by 
her name 3 , came over to Caesar through great and imminent 
dangers. 

LXXXV. At length arrived the day of the great struggle, 
when Caesar and Antony, with their fleets drawn up, came 
to a general engagement ; one fighting to save, the other to 
ruin the world. The right wing of Caesar's fleet was in- 
trusted to Marcus Lurius, the left to Aruntius ; to Agrippa 
was committed the management of the whole action. Caesar 
himself, ready to go wherever he should be called by fortune, 
might be said to be present everywhere. On Antony's side, 
the direction of the fleet was given to Publicola and Sosius. 
Of the troops stationed on the land, Taurus commanded 
Caesar's, and Canidius Antony's. "When the engagement 
began, there was everything ready on one side, the com- 
mander, the seamen, the soldiers ; on the other, nothing but 
the soldiers. Cleopatra first began the flight, and Antony 
chose rather to be the companion of a flying queen than of a 
fighting soldiery ; and the general, whose duty it had been to 
punish deserters, became a deserter from his own army. 
The courage of his men, though deprived of their head, held 
out a long time in a most determined struggle ; despairing of 
victory, they sought death in the conflict. Caesar, wishing to 
soothe with words those whom he might have slain with the 

1 LXXXIV. Amyntas] The successor of Deiotarus in the kingdom of Galatia. 

2 Dellius] Quintus Dellius, to whom Horace addresses Od. ii., 3. He deserted 
from Dolabella to Cassius, from Cassius to Antony, and from Antony to Caesar. 
Sen. Suasor., i. The text is here imperfect, and a few words are omitted in the 
translation. 

3 By her name] Nomine. Not saluting her as a queen, but calling her merely 
Cleopatra. 



512 TELLEIUS PATERCULTJS. [Book II. 

sword, and calling and pointing out that Antony had fled, 
asked them for whom, and against whom, they were fighting. 
At last, after a long effort in favour of their absent leader, 
they reluctantly laid down their arms, and yielded the victory ; 
and Caesar granted them life and pardon more readily than 
they could be persuaded to ask them of him. It was uni- 
versally allowed, that the soldiery acted the part of an excel- 
lent commander, and the commander that of a most dastardly 
soldier. Who can doubt, therefore, whether he who took to 
flight at the will of Cleopatra, would, in case of success, have 
regulated his conduct by her will or his own ? The army on 
land submitted in like manner, Canidius having precipitately 
fled to join Antony. 

LXXXVL What blessings that day procured to the 
world, what an improvement it produced in the state of the 
public welfare, w r ho w r ould attempt to recount in such a 
hasty narrative as this abridgment? The victory was at- 
tended with the greatest clemency ; only a few w^ere put to 
death ; and these were such as would not deign to sue for 
mercy. From this lenity of the leader, a judgment may be 
formed of the limits which he would have prescribed to him- 
self in success, had he been allowed, both at the beginning 
of his triumvirate and in the plains of Philippi. The faithful 
friendship of Lucius Aruntius, a man remarkable for in- 
tegrity like that of old, was the means of saving the life of 
Sosius, though Csesar had a long struggle against his inclina- 
tion to spare him. Let us not pass unnoticed the memo- 
rable conduct and language of Asinius Pollio. HaviDg, 
after the peace of Brundusium, stayed at home in Italy, 
having never seen the queen, nor, after Antony's mind was 
enervated by his passion for her, ever interfered in the 
business of his party, he replied to a request from Caesar to 
accompany him to the battle at Actium, " My services to 
Antony are too great ; his kindnesses to me are too notorious ; 
I will therefore keep aloof from your contest, and be the prey 
of the conqueror.' ' 

LXXXVII. In the next year, Caesar, pursuing the queen 
and Antony to Alexandria, brought the civil wars to a con- 
clusion. Antony killed himself courageously enough, so as 
to compensate by his death for many faults of effeminacy. 
Cleopatra, eluding the vigilance of her guards, and causing 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OE EOMAK HISTOEY. 513 

an asp to be brought in to her, put an end to her life by its 
bite, showing no signs of womanish fear. It reflected honour 
on Caesar's success, and his merciful disposition, that not one 
of those who had borne arms against him was put to death 
by him. The cruelty of Antony took off Decimus Brutus ; 
and the same Antony deprived Sextus Pompey of life, though, 
on conquering him, he had pledged his honour to secure 
to him even his rank. Brutus and Cassius died voluntary 
deaths, without waiting to make trial of the disposition of the 
conquerors. The end of Antony and Cleopatra I have just 
related. Canidius died in a more cowardly manner than was 
consistent with his frequent professions. Of the murderers 
of Caesar, Cassius Parmensis was the last victim of vengeance, 
as Trebonius had been the first. 

LXXXVIII. "While Caesar was employed in putting the 
last hand to the Actian and the Alexandrine wars, Marcus 
Lepidus, a young man more amiable in person than in 
mind, son of that Lepidus who had been triumvir for re- 
gulating the government, by Junia a sister of Brutus, 
formed a plot to assassinate Caesar, as soon as he should 
return to Eome. The guardianship of the city was then 
in the hands of Caius Maecenas, who was of equestrian 
rank, but of a highly honourable family ; a man who, when 
any affair demanded vigilance, showed the greatest alacrity, 
foresight, and judgment, but who, when relaxation from 
business could be obtained, indulged himself in indolence 
and pleasure to an excess of effeminacy. He was no less 
beloved by Caesar, than was Agrippa, but he was not so 
highly promoted, because, through life, he was fully con- 
tented with the narrow purple 1 ; he might have obtained 
equal preferment, but he had not equal desire for it. On 
this occasion, making not the least stir, but dissembling 
his knowledge of the matter, he watched the proceedings 
of this hot-headed young man, and then crushing him with 
wonderful despatch, and without any disturbance either 
of men or business, he stifled the direful seeds of a 

1 LXXXVIII. Fully contented with the narrow purple] The text has angusti 
clavipene contentus, which is manifestly corrupt, for any trustworthy example of 
contentus with a genitive is not to he found. Ruhnken thinks that pene is a cor- 
ruption of some substantive. The Basil editor gives angusto davo. For pene, 
Krause proposes bene or plane. The angustus davits was the badge of a knight. 

2l 



514 YELLEITJS PATERCTJLUS. [Book II. 

new and fast reviving civil war, the author meeting the 
punishment due to his criminal purposes. Here we may 
produce an instance of conjugal affection parallel to that of 
Calpurnia, wife of Antistius, whom we have mentioned 
above 1 ; Servilia, the wife of Lepidus, swallowed burning 
coals, and thus gained immortal fame as a compensation for a 
premature death. 

LXXXIX. How great the concourse was, and how ardent 
the welcome from men of all ages and ranks, with which 
Caesar was met on his return to Italy and Rome ; how mag- 
nificent, too, were his triumphs and donations, cannot be 
fully related even in the compass of a regular history, much 
less in so brief a work as this. There is no good which men 
can desire of the gods, none that the gods can bestow on 
men, none that can be conceived in wishes, none that can be 
comprised in perfect good fortune, which Augustus on his 
return did not realise to the state, to the Roman people, and 
to the world. The civil wars, which had lasted twenty years, 
were ended, foreign wars were suppressed, peace was re- 
called, the fury of arms everywhere laid asleep, energy was 
restored to the laws, authority to the courts of justice, and 
majesty to the senate; the power of the magistrates was 
confined within its ancient limits, only two prsetors being 
appointed in addition to the former eight; the old and 
original form of the Commonwealth was re-established ; the 
culture of the lands was revived ; reverence was restored to 
religion, security to men's persons, and to every man safe 
enjoyment of his property; the old laws received useful 
emendations, and others of a salutary nature were intro- 
duced ; and the senate was chosen without severity, though 
not without strictness. The principal men, who had enjoyed 
triumphs and the highest honours, were induced by the encou- 
ragement of the prince to add to the decorations of the city. 
He himself could only be persuaded to accept of the consul- 
ship, which he was prevailed upon to hold, though he made 
many endeavours to prevent it, for eleven years ; the dictator- 
ship, which the people resolutely pressed upon him, he as 
resolutely refused. A recital of the wars waged under his 
command, of his victories that gave peace to the world, and 

1 Calpurnia — mentioned above] See c. 26. 



Eook II.] COMPENDIUM OF ROMAN HISTORY. 515 

of iris numerous works both in Italy and abroad, would give 
full employment to a writer, who should dedicate the whole 
of his life merely to those subjects. Mindful of our declared 
purpose, we have laid before our readers only a general view 
of his administration. 

XC. When the civil wars were composed, as we have 
said, and the parts of the state, which a long succession of 
contests had lacerated, began to coalesce, Dalmatia, which 
had continued rebellious for two hundred and twenty years, 
was reduced to make a full acknowledgment of the Roman 
supremacy. The Alps, inhabited by fierce and barbarous 
nations, were entirely subdued. Spain, after much fighting 
with various success, was completely subjugated, partly by 
Caesar in person, and partly by Agrippa, whom the friend- 
ship of the prince raised to a third consulship, and afterwards 
to be his colleague in the tribunitial power. Into this pro- 
vince a Roman army was first sent in the consulship of 
Scipio and Sempronius Longus, in the first year of the 
second Punic "War, and two hundred and fifty years from 
the present time, under the command of Scipio, the uncle of 
Africanus ; and a war was maintained there for two hundred 
years, with so much bloodshed on both sides, that, while 
Rome lost several armies and generals, the struggle was 
often attended with dishonour, and sometimes even with 
danger, to her empire. This province brought death to the 
Scipios ; this province employed our forefathers in a dis- 
graceful contest of twenty years with the general Viriathus ; 
this province shook Rome itself with the terror of the JNu- 
mantine war. In this province was made the scandalous 
treaty of Quintus Pompeius, and the more scandalous one of 
Mancinus, which the senate rescinded by delivering up that 
commander with ignominy. This province caused the loss 
of many generals of consular and praetorian rank, and, in the 
time of our fathers, exalted Sertorius to such power in arms, 
that during five years it was impossible to judge whether 
the Romans or the Spaniards were the stronger in the field, 
or which nation was destined to obey the other. This pro- 
vince, then, so extensive, so populous, and so warlike, Au- 
gustus Caesar, about fifty years ago, reduced to such a state 
of pacification, that the country, which had never been free 
from most violent wars, was thenceforward, first under Caius 

2l2 



516 YELLEIUS PATEKCULTTS. [Book II. 

Antistius, then under Publius Silius, and afterwards under 
other governors, perfectly exempt from the disturbances 
even of marauders. 

XCI. While means were employed for establishing peace 
in the west, the Roman standards which Orodes had taken 
when Crassus was cut off, and those which his son Phraates 
had captured when Antony was driven from the country, 
were sent back from the east, by the king of the Parthians, 
to Augustus, the name which the general voice of the senate 
and people of Rome had, on the motion of Plancus, conferred 
upon Caesar. Tet there were some w r ho felt dissatisfied 
with this most happy state of affairs. Lucius Murena and 
Pannius Caepio, men of different characters, (for Murena, 
setting aside his present misconduct, might be esteemed a 
good man ; Caepio, even before this, had shown himself one 
of the worst,) formed a plot to assassinate Caesar, but, being 
found guilty on a public trial, they suffered from justice that 
which they had intended to inflict on another by violence. 
Not long after, Rufus Egnatius, a man, who, in every re- 
spect, was more like a gladiator than a senator, but who, in 
the office of aedile, had acquired a considerable share of popu- 
larity, which he had increased by occasionally extinguishing 
fires with the aid of his own servants ; so that from that 
office he succeeded to the praetorship, and afterwards had 
the assurance to stand for the consulate, though he was 
conscious of being sunk in every kind of vice and infamy ; 
nor was his property in better condition than his mind ; 
this man, I say, having collected a number of accomplices 
like himself, resolved to effect Caesar's death, being willing 
to die himself, if he could but cut off the man during whose 
life he could not hope to prosper. Por it is frequently the 
case, that a desperate man chooses to fall amidst public ruin, 
rather than to sink by himself, and desires, if he must 
perish, to escape notice among a multitude. But he was 
not more successful in keeping the secret than the former 
conspirators ; for being thrown into prison, he suffered, 
with his accomplices, the death best suited to his life. 

XCII. Let us not defraud of due commemoration the 
very meritorious conduct of an excellent man, Caius Sentius 
Saturninus, who was consul at this time. Caesar was absent, 
being employed in regulating the affairs of Asia, and of the 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF ROMAN HISTORY. 517 

east, and dispensing by his presence to every part of the 
world the blessings of that peace, of which he was the author. 
Sentius, in Cesar's absence, happened to be sole consul; 
and, after giving other instances of conduct distinguished by 
primitive strictness and the greatest firmness of mind 1 , such 
as dragging into light the frauds of the revenue farmers, 
punishing their avarice, and replacing the public money in 
the treasury, he also, when presiding at the elections, sup- 
ported the character of consul witli extraordinary dignity ; 
for whatever persons he judged unworthy to stand for the 
quasstorship, he forbade to declare themselves candidates for 
it : and, if they persisted in doing so, he threatened to make 
them feel the power of a consul, should they appear in the 
Campus Martius. And when Eguatius, elated by his popu- 
larity, conceived hopes, that as he had advanced immediately 
from the office of sedile to that of praetor, so he would pro- 
ceed from the praatorship to the consulate, he ordered him 
to withdraw from the field, and, on failing to obtain com- 
pliance from him, he assured him with an oath, that even if 
he should be elected by the votes of the people, he would 
not return him. Such conduct I think comparable to any 
of the celebrated acts of the early consuls ; but such is our 
nature, that we more readily bestow praise on actions of 
which we hear, than on those which we see ; we view pre- 
sent merit with envy, and past with veneration ; thinking 
ourselves obscured by the one, but stimulated by the other. 

XCIII. Three years before the discovery of the plot of 
Egnatius, about the time of the conspiracy of Murena and 
Caapio, fifty years from the present time, Marcus Marcellus, 
son of Octavia, the sister of Augustus, (whom people gene- 
rally supposed, if CVesar should die, to be likely to succeed 
to his station, but suspected that that dignity would not be 
conferred on him without opposition from Marcus Agrippa,) 
died very young, after having, in the office of aedile, exhi- 
bited games with the greatest magnificence. He is said to 
have been a youth of excellent natural qualities, happy in 
temper and ability, and capable of filling the high station 

1 XCIL By primitive strictness and the greatest firmness of mind] Prised 
severitate et samma constantia. The words which follow these, vetere consilium 
more ac severitate, are not translated, being, as Krause observes, a manifest in- 
terpolation. 



518 YELLEITIS PATEECULTJS. [Book II. 

for which he was educated. After his death, Agrippa, 
who had gone to Asia under pretence of acting as deputy to 
the prince, but, as fame says, choosing to be out of the 
way during the present state of affairs, on account of private 
misunderstandings between him and Marcellus, returned 
home and married Caesar's daughter Julia, who had been the 
wife of Marcellus, a woman whose offspring promoted neither 
her own nor her country's happiness. 

XCIV. During this period, Tiberius Claudius Nero, (who, 
as we have said, was three years old when Livia, daughter of 
Claudianus Drusus, became the wife of Caesar, being con- 
tracted to him by Nero her former husband,) a youth who had 
been trained in the noblest principles, who possessed in the 
highest degree birth, beauty, dignity of mien, valuable know- 
ledge, and superior capacity, and who from the beginning 
gave hopes of becoming the great man that he now is, and 
by his look announced himself a prince, began to act in a 
public character, beiug made quaestor in his nineteenth year ; 
and, under the direction of his stepfather, took such judicious 
measures, both in Rome and at Ostia, to remedy the exorbitant 
price of provisions and the scarcity of corn, that from what 
he did on that occasion, it plainly appeared how great he 
was to become. Not long after, being sent with an army, 
under a commission also from his stepfather, to inspect and 
regulate the provinces in the east, he displayed in those 
countries instances of every kind of virtue ; and, having 
marched his legions into Armenia, and reduced it under the 
power of the Roman people, he bestowed the government of 
it, [which had been taken from] Artavasdes 1 , on [Tigranes.] 
Even the king of the Parthians, awed by the fame of his 
great character, sent his own sons as hostages to Caesar. 

XCV. "When Nero returned from those parts, Caesar de- 
termined to try his abilities in supporting the weight of a 
difficult war, giving him, as an assistant in the business, his 
own brother Claudius Drusus, whom Livia had borne in the 
house of Caesar. The two brothers attacked the Rhaetians 
and Vindelicians on different sides, and having accomplished 
the sieges of many cities and forts, as well as some successful 
actions in the field, they completely subdued those nations, 

1 XCIY. Artavasdes, cj-c.] There is here a hiatus in the text. The words in 
brackets are a suggestion of Lipsius. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF EOMAN HISTORI. 519 

(though strongly protected by the nature of the country, 
difficult of access, abounding in numbers, and of savage fierce- 
ness,) with more danger than loss on the side of the Romans, 
but with great bloodshed on that of the enemy. 

Some time before this, the censorship of Plancus and 
Paulus was spent in quarrelling with each other, producing 
neither honour to themselves nor advantage to the public ; for 
one of them wanted the requisite capacity, the other the re- 
quisite character, for a censor. Paulus could hardly fill the 
office ; and Plancus ought to have shrunk from it ; for he 
could not charge young men, or hear others charge them, 
with any crime of which he in his old age was not guilty. 

XCVI. Soon after, the death of Agrippa, who had en- 
nobled his original obscurity by many honours, and had ad- 
vanced so far as to become father-in-law to Nero, whose 
sons the emperor Augustus, being his own grandsons, had 
adopted, prefixing the names Caius and Lucius to their own, 
brought Nero into closer connexion with Ca3sar, for Julia, 
Caesar's daughter, who had been the wife of Agrippa, mar- 
ried Nero. The war in Pannonia, which had commenced in 
the consulate of Agrippa and Marcus Vinicius your grand- 
father, and which, raging with great fury, threatened Italy 
with imminent danger, was then conducted by Nero. The 
Pannonian nations, the tribes of the Dalmatians, the situa- 
tions of the countries and rivers, the numbers of their people 
and the extent of their strength, the numerous and most 
glorious victories gained in that war by this consummate 
general, we shall describe in another place. Let this work 
preserve its character. In consequence of this success Nero 
enjoyed the honour of an ovation. 

XCVII. But while all things on this side of the empire 
were conducted with the greatest success, a severe loss was 
sustained by the troops in Germany, under the command of 
the lieutenant-general Marcus Lollius, a man who was always 
more anxious to get money than to discharge his duty, and, 
while he carefully concealed his vices, was extremely profli- 
gate. The loss of the eagle of the fifth legion called Caesar 
from the city into Gaul. The change and management of 
the German war was then delegated to Claudius Drusus the 
brother of Nero, a youth of as many and as great virtues as 
human nature can cherish, or industry acquire ; and of 



520 YELLEIUS PATEKCULUS. [Book II. 

whose genius it is doubtful whether it was better adapted 
for the arts of war or of peace. His sweet and engaging 
manners, his courteous and unassuming demeanour 1 towards 
his friends, are said to have been inimitable. The comeliness 
of his person approached very near to that of his brother. 
But, when he had conquered a great part of Germany, after 
shedding a profusion of the blood of the inhabitants in 
various parts, the cruelty of the fates snatched him from 
the world while he was consul, and in the thirtieth year of 
his age. The burden of the war then devolved on Nero, 
who executed it with his usual valour and success ; and, 
carrying his victorious arms over every part of Germany, 
without any loss of the troops committed to his charge, (an 
object always of great solicitude with this commander,) he 
subdued it so effectually as to reduce it nearly to the state 
of a tributary province. Another triumph, and another con- 
sulship, were in consequence conferred upon him. 

XC VIII. While the transactions which we have mentioned 
passed in Pannonia and Germany, the military exertions of 
Lucius Piso, whom we behold at present the mildest guar- 
dian of the city's safety, suppressed a furious war that broke 
out in Thrace, where all the tribes of the nation had arisen 
in arms. As lieutenant-general to Caesar, he carried on the 
war against them for three years ; and partly by engage- 
ments in the field, partly by taking their towns, with great 
destruction on their side, he reduced those ferocious people 
to submission on the former terms of peace ; by which 
achievement he restored security to Asia, and peace to Ma- 
cedonia. Of this man, every one must think and acknow- 
ledge that his character is^ a composition of vigour and gen- 
tleness, and that it is hard to find any person, either more 
fond of ease, more ready to undergo the fatigue of business, 
or more anxious to despatch what is required of him, without 
any display of activity. 

XCIX. "Not loug after, Tiberius Nero, having now en- 
joyed two consulships, and as many triumphs, having been 
raised to an equality with Augustus in the partnership of 
the tribunitian power, having become the most eminent of 
all his countrymen excepting one, and being inferior to him 

1 XCVIT. Unassuming demeanour] Par sui cestimatio. "Just estimation of 
himself. " 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF ROMAN HISTORY. 521 

only because he wished to be so ; the greatest of com- 
manders, the most distinguished in fame and fortune, the 
second luminary and head of the Commonwealth, requested 
(out of a surprising, incredible, and unspeakable effort of 
affection, the causes of which were afterwards discovered, as 
he considered that Caius Csssar had already assumed the 
manly gown, and that Lucius was now grown up to man- 
hood, and apprehended that his own splendour might ob- 
struct the progress of the rising youths,) leave of absence 
from his father-in-law and stepfather, that he might rest from 
a continual course of labours, but without discovering the 
true reasons for such a resolution. An account of the senti- 
ments of the people on this occasion, of the feelings of indi- 
viduals, of the tears shed by every one on taking leave of 
this great man, and how near his country was to insisting 
on his stay, must be reserved for my history at large. Eut 
one thing must be mentioned even in this hasty narration ; 
that he spent seven years at Rhodes in such a manner, that 
all procoDsuls and legates going into the transmarine pro- 
vinces waited on him there with compliments, lowering their 
fasces to him always even in his private character, (if such 
jnajesty was ever private.) and acknowledging his retirement 
more to be respected than their high employments. 

C. The whole world was sensible that JN~ero had withdrawn 
from the guardianship of the city. J^ot only the Parthians, 
renouncing the alliance of Rome, laid their hands on Ar- 
menia ; but Germany, when the eyes of its conqueror were 
turned away, rose up in rebellion. But in the city, in that 
same year, (thirty from the present time,) in which the 
emperor Augustus, being consul with Caninius Gallus, grati- 
fied the eyes and minds of the Roman people, on occasion of 
dedicating a Temple to Mars, with most magnificent spec- 
tacles of gladiators and a sea-fight, a calamity disgraceful to 
mention, and dreadful to call to mind, fell upon his own 
house. His daughter Julia, utterly regardless of the dignity 
of her father and husband, indulged in every excess which a 
woman can practice or allow at the instigation of luxury 
and libidinousness, measuring her licence to be vicious by 
the eminence of her station, and pronouncing everything 
lawful that gratified her desires. On this occasion Julius 



522 YELLEIUS PATEECULXJS. [Book II. 

Antonius 1 , who from being a conspicuous example of Caesar's 
mercy became a violator of bis house, was himself the 
avenger of his own guilt. To this man, after the overthrow 
of his father, Caesar had granted not only life, but a priest's 
office, a praetorship, a consulate, and the government of pro- 
vinces, and had even admitted him to the closest affinity, by 
giving him in marriage the daughter of his own sister. And 
Quintius Crispinus, who covered exorbitant wickedness under 
a morose austerity of countenance, with Appius Claudius, 
Sempronius Gracchus, Scipio, and others of less note, of both 
orders, suffered only such punishment as they would have 
incurred for corrupting any ordinary person's wife ; though 
they had denied the daughter of Caesar, and wife of Nero. 
Julia was banished to the island [of Pandataria], and thus 
removed from the sight of her country and her parents; 
though, indeed, her mother Scribonia accompanied her, and 
remained a voluntary sharer in her exile. 

CI. A short time had intervened, when Caius Caesar, after 
making a progress through other provinces to inspect their 
condition, was sent to Syria, and made, on his way, a visit to 
Tiberius JNero, paying every mark of respect to him as to a 
superior ; but, during his stay in the province, his conduct 
was so variable, that neither would abundant matter be 
wanting to him who would praise it, nor a sufficiency to him 
who would censure it. This noble youth had an interview 
with the king of the Parthians iu an island of the Euphrates, 
each having an equal number of attendants. This grand 
and memorable spectacle, of the Roman army standing on 
one side, and the Parthian on the other, while the most 
illustrious heads of the greatest empires in the world held 
their meeting, I had the good fortune to behold, soon after 
my entrance into the army, being then a military tribune. 
This rank I attained, Marcus Vinicius, while serving under 
your father and Publius Silius in Thrace and Macedonia; 
and having since seen Achaia, Asia, all the provinces in the 
east, and the mouth and both shores of the Pontic sea, I now 
receive much pleasure from the recollection of so many 
events, places, nations, and cities. The Parthian was first 

1 C. Julius Antonius] Son of Mark Antony, by Fulvia. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF EOMAN HISTOBY. 523 

entertained at a banquet b y Caius, on our bank ; then Caius 
by the king, on the bank opposite. 

OH. On this occasion, some treacherous schemes, full of 
artifice and deceit, which had been formed by Marcus Lollius, 
whom Augustus had chosen director of the youth of his son, 
were revealed to Caesar by the Parthian prince ; and they 
were afterwards made public by common fame. "Whether 
Lollius' s death, which followed in a few days, was fortuitous 
or voluntary, I have not discovered; but the joy, which 
people felt at his decease, was counterbalanced by their grief 
for the loss of Censorinus, who died soon after in the same 
province, a man formed by nature to captivate the affections 
of mankind. Caius then marched into Armenia, and, at the 
beginning, conducted everything well ; but afterwards, in a 
conference near Artigera, where he had rashly exposed him- 
self, being severely wounded by a man named Adduus, he 
became, in consequence, less active in body, and mentally 
less capable of benefiting the public. He had about him, 
also, a crowd of courtiers, who encouraged his vices by adu- 
lation ; for flattery is- always an attendant on high station, 
and, by this means, he was so far perverted, that he wished 
to spend his life in the most retired and distant corner of the 
globe, rather than return to Rome. However, after many 
struggles he consented, and having reluctantly set out for 
Italy, he fell sick and died at a town in Lycia, which they 
call Limyra. His brother, Lucius Caesar, had died a year 
before at Marseilles, as he was going to Spain. 

CIII. But Fortune, though she had frustrated the hopes 
entertained of those illustrious names, had already restored 
to the republic its own peculiar safeguard. For before the 
death of either, Tiberius Nero coming home from Rhodes, 
in the consulate of Publius Yinicius, your father, had filled 
his country with incredible joy. Augustus Caesar did not 
long hesitate as to his adoption; not having to seek one 
whom he might elect, but to elect him who was most worthy. 
What he had purposed, therefore, after the death of Lucius, 
while Caius was yet alive, but had been diverted from doing 
by the earnest opposition of Nero, he, on the decease of the 
two young men, determined to execute ; and accordingly 
constituted Nero his partner in the tribunician power, 
though the latter used many arguments against the measure, 



524 VELLEIUS PATEKCULTJS. [Book II. 

both at home and in the senate ; and moreover, in the con- 
sulship of JElius Catus and Sentius, seven hundred and 
fifty-seven years after the building of the city, twenty-seven 
from the present time, and on the twenty-seventh of June, 
he adopted him as his son. The joy of that day, the con- 
course of all ranks of men, the prayers offered by people 
stretching their hands, as it were, up to heaven itself, and 
the hopes then conceived of perpetual security, and of the 
eternal duration of the Roman empire, we shall scarcely be 
able to represent fully in our large work, much less can we 
attempt to do justice to them here. I must be content with 
observing that he was all in all to every one 1 . Then shone 
forth to parents a certain hope of security for their children, 
to husbands of provision for their wives, to landowners of 
retaining their patrimony, and to all men, of safety, quiet^ 
peace, and tranquillity; so that nothing further could be 
hoped, nor could hope have a happier prospect of fulfilment. 
CIV. On the same day he adopted Marcus Agrippa, of 
whom Julia was delivered after Agrippa' s death. But in 
the adoption of Nero an addition was made to the formula in 
these very words of Caesar : " This I do for the good of the 
Commonwealth." His country did not long detain in the 
city the champion and guardian of its empire, but speedily 
sent him into Germany, where a most violent war had broken 
out three years before, when Marcus Vinicius, your grand- 
father, a man of the highest reputation, was governor there, 
who had engaged the enemy in some places, and in others 
had made an honourable defence ; for which merits trium- 
phal ornaments were decreed him, with a noble inscription 
reciting his performances. This year made me a soldier in 
the camp of Tiberius Cassar, having previously held the office 
of tribune. For shortly after his adoption, being sent with 
him into Germany in the post of praefect of cavalry, succeed- 
ing my father in that office, I was, for nine successive years, 
either as prsefect, or lieutenant-general, a spectator, and, as 
far as the mediocrity of my ability allowed, an assistant in his 
glorious achievements. Nor do I think that any human 

1 CIII. That he was all in all to every one] Quam in illo \_omnia~\ omnibus 
fuerint. " How much all things were in him for all." The omnia is an insertion 
of Krause's, borrowed by him from Lipsius's conjecture, quam ille omnia omnibus 
fuerit. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF EOMAN HISTORY. 525 

being can have an opportunity of enjoying another spectacle 
like that which I enjoyed, when, throughout the most popu- 
lous part of Italy, and the whole length of the Gallic pro- 
vinces, the people, on seeing again their former commander, 
who in merit and power was Caesar, before he was so in 
name, congratulated themselves even more warmly than they 
congratulated him. At the very sight of him, tears of joy 
sprung from the eyes of the soldiers, and there appeared 
in their salutations an unusual degree of spirit, a kind of 
exultation, and an eager wish to touch his hand. Nor could 
they restrain themselves from adding, " General, we see you, 
we once more receive you in safety;" and again, " General, 
I was with you in Armenia," "I in Bhaetia," "I was re- 
warded by you in Vindelicia," " I in Pannonia," "I in 
Germany;" all this cannot be described in words, and per- 
haps will scarcely gain belief. 

CY. Germany was entered without delay ; the Caninefates, 
the Attuarii, the Eructeri, were subdued ; the Cherusci 
were again received into submission ; the river Visurgis, 
afterwards rendered remarkable by a disaster of our troops, 
was crossed ; the parts beyond it were penetrated ; while 
Caesar assumed to himself all the most laborious and danger- 
ous parts of the war, employing, in those which were attended 
with less hazard, the services of Sentius Saturninus, who was 
then his father's deputy in Gerinanj- ; a man of manifold 
virtues, diligent, active, provident, able to sustain military 
duties, as well as eminently skilled in them ; but who, when 
business gave place to leisure, wasted his time in expensive 
indulgences, yet in such a manner, that he might rather be 
called splendid and gay, than luxurious or indolent. Of 
his meritorious and celebrated consulship we have already 
spoken. The campaign of that year was protracted to the 
month of December, and rewarded our exertions with abun- 
dant success. His filial affection drew Caesar to Rome, 
though the Alps were rendered almost impassable by the 
winter ; but in the beginning of spring the necessity of pro- 
tecting the empire recalled him to Germany, in the heart of 
which country, at the source of the river Lupia 1 , the general 
at his departure had fixed his winter quarters. 

1 CY. Lupia] Now called Lippe; a river of Westphalia, rising in the bishopric 
of Paderborn, and running into the Khine near Wesel. 



526 YELLEITJS PATEKCULTJS. [Book II. 

CVI. Good gods ! Eor how large a volume did we achieve 
sufficient exploits in the following summer, under the com- 
mand of Tiberius Caesar ! The whole extent of Germany was 
traversed by our army ; nations were conquered that were 
almost unknown to us even in name. The tribes of the 
Cauchians were reduced to submission; all their youth, 
infinite in number, gigantic in size, strongly guarded by the 
nature of the country, delivered up their weapons, and, with 
their leaders, surrounded by troops of our soldiers glittering 
in arms, prostrated themselves before the general's tribunal. 
The Longobardi, a nation exceeding even the Germans in 
fierceness, were crushed. In fine, what had never before 
been hoped, much less attempted, the Roman army carried 
its standards to the distance of four hundred miles from the 
Rhine, as far as the Elbe, which flows along the borders of the 
Semnones and Hermunduri ; and, by singular good fortune, 
the care of the general, and a proper attention to the seasons, 
a fleet which had sailed round the bays of the Ocean, came 
from a sea, previously unheard of and unknown, up the Elbe 
to the same place, and, crowned with victory over many 
nations, and supplied with a vast abundance of all things, 
joined Caesar and his army. 

CVII. I cannot forbear inserting the following incident, 
whatever may be thought of it, among affairs of so much 
greater magnitude. While we were encamped on the hither 
bank of the last-mentioned river, and while the farther bank 
glittered with the armour of the enemy's troops, who, be it 
observed, always drew back at the least movement of our 
ships, one of the barbarians, far advanced in years, of extra- 
ordinary stature, and, as his dress indicated, of the highest 
dignity, embarked in a canoe formed of a tree hollowed out, 
such as is common among those nations ; and, managing this 
vessel alone, he advanced as far as the middle of the stream, 
requesting to be allowed, without danger to himself, to land 
on the bank which we occupied with our army, and to see 
Caesar. This request was granted. Having then brought 
his canoe to the shore, and contemplated Caesar a long time 
in silence, he said, " Our young men are certainly mad ; they 
worship your divinity in your absence; yet, in your pre- 
sence, choose rather to dread your arms, than to trust your 
faith. Eor my part, Caesar, I have this day, by your per- 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OP ROMAN HISTORY. 527 

mission and favour, seen the gods, of whom I had before only 
heard, and I never in my life either wished for, or experi- 
enced, a day of greater happiness." Then, having obtained 
leave to touch his hand, he re-embarked in his little vessel, 
and continually looking back at Caesar, sailed away to the 
bank occupied by his countrymen. Victorious over every 
nation and place that he had approached, Caesar, with his 
army safe and unimpaired, for it had been only once at- 
tacked, and then by a stratagem on the part of the enemy, 
and with great loss to themselves, led back his legions to 
winter quarters, and returned to Rome with as much haste 
as he had used in the preceding year. 

CVIII. Nothing now remained to be conquered in Ger- 
many, except the nation of the Marcomanni, who, under the 
command of Maroboduus, had forsaken their original abode, 
and having retired into the interior parts of the country, 
now dwelt in plains surrounded by the Hercynian forest. 
jNo haste could be an excuse for passing this chieftain with- 
out notice. Maroboduus was of distinguished birth, of great 
bodily strength, of a bold, daring spirit, and though a bar- 
barian by birth, was no barbarian in understanding. He 
held a sovereignty over his nation, not gained by party 
struggles or by chance, nor variable at the will of his sub- 
jects, but steady and firmly established ; and animated by a 
kingly spirit, he determined to lead away his people far from 
the Romans, and to proceed to some place, where, being 
beyond the reach of more powerful arms, he might render 
his own supreme. 

CIX. Accordingly, having taken possession of the country 
above mentioned, he brought all the neighbouring tribes 
under his dominion, either by force, or on terms of agree- 
ment. He had a guard for the protection of his person ; 
and his army being brought, by continual practice, to a close 
resemblance to the discipline of the E/omans, he advanced 
his power to such a height as to become formidable even to 
our empire. Towards the Romans he so conducted himself, 
that, though he did not attack us, he plainly showed, that if 
he should be attacked, he had abundance of strength and 
inclination to make resistance. The ambassadors, whom he 
sent to the Caesars, sometimes presented his respects, as if 
he were their humble suppliant, and sometimes spoke for 



528 yelleitjs paterculus. [Book II. 

him as their equal. For nations and individuals revolting 
from us, there was with him a safe refuge ; and he acted the 
part, wholly or with but little dissimulation, of a rival. His 
army, which he had raised to seventy thousand foot, and four 
thousand horse, he prepared, by constant exercise in war- 
fare against his neighbours, for more important business than 
he had then in hand. He was formidable likewise on this 
account, that having Germany on his left and front, Pan- 
nonia on the right, and Noricum at the back of his territory, 
he was dreaded by them all, as being always ready to attack 
them. ]STor did he allow Italy to be unconcerned at the 
growth of his power ; for the frontier of his dominions was 
distant little more than two hundred miles from the summit 
of the Alps, which form the boundary of Italy. This man 
and his country, Tiberius Csesar resolved to attack in the 
following year, on different sides. Sentius Saturninus was 
accordingly directed, after cutting a passage through the 
Hercynian forest, to march his legions through the Catti to 
Boiohoemum, (so the country of Maroboduus is called,) and 
Csesar himself proceeded to lead the army, which was then 
serving in Illyricum against the Marcomanni, by the way of 
Carnuntum, the nearest place in the kingdom of Noricum 
on that side. 

CX. Fortune sometimes frustrates, sometimes retards, 
the purposes of men. Caesar had already prepared winter 
quarters on the Danube, had brought his army within live 
days' march of the enemy's frontier, and had ordered Satur- 
ninus to bring up his forces, (which were at nearly an equal 
distance from the enemy, and were ready to form a junction 
with Caesar in a few days, at the place already mentioned 1 ,) 
when the whole of Pannonia, which had become impatient of 
control from long enjoyment of peace, and Dalmatia, now 
grown up to full strength, having drawn into a confederacy 
all the nations of that region, took up arms in concert. The 
commands of necessity were consequently preferred to the 
call of glory ; for it was not thought safe to keep the army 
at such a distance in the interior country, and leave Italy 
open to an enemy so near it. Of the states and nations 
which rose in insurrection, the number of men amounted to 

1 CX. At the place already mentioned] In prcedicto loco. Apparently Car- 
nuntum, c. 109,^. 



Eoolv II.] COMPENDIUM Or ROMAN HISTOEY. 529 

more than eight hundred thousand ; two hundred thousand 
foot were assembled, well appointed with arms, and nine 
thousand horse. Of this immense multitude, commanded 
by very active and able leaders, one part was intended to 
march against Italy, which joins their country at the con- 
fines of Nauportum and Tergeste ; another part had already 
made an irruption into Macedonia, and a third was appointed 
to guard their own countries. The chief command was 
vested in three leaders, the two Batones and Pinnes. With 
regard to the Pannonians, they had all some knowledge, not 
only of the discipline, but also of the language of the Bo- 
mans ; and most of them understood something of letters, 
and were no strangers to exercises of the mind. Xo other 
nation ever entered on war so soon after resolving on it, or 
so speedily put its determinations in execution. Eoman 
citizens were murdered, traders slain, and, in that quarter of 
the country most remote from the general, a vast number of 
soldiers 1 cut off. All Macedonia was reduced by their arms, 
and everything in every part wasted with fire and sword. 
So powerful, indeed, were the apprehensions excited by this 
Avar, that they shook and alarmed even the steady mind of 
Augustus Caesar, strengthened as it was by experience in 
wars of such magnitude. 

CXI. Troops were accordingly levied; all the veterans 
were everywhere called out ; and not only men, but women, 
were compelled to furnish freedmen for soldiers, in proportion 
to their income. The prince w r as heard to say in the senate, 
that, unless they were on their guard, the enemy might in 
ten days come within sight of the city of Eome. The ser- 
vices of Soman senators and knights were required, accord- 
ing to their promises, in support of the war. But all these 
preparations we should have made in vain, had there been no 
one to direct. The Commonwealth, therefore, requested of 
Augustus to give the command in that war to Tiberius, as 
their best defender. 

In this war, likewise, my humble ability found a post of 
honourable employment. After completing my service in 

1 A vast number of soldiers] Magnus numerus vexillariorum. What the 
vexillarii were, is not quite certain. Ernesti, in his Excursus on the subject, 
.subjoined to Tacitus's History, thinks that they were tirones, and the same 
as the hastati 

2 m 



530 VELLEIUS PATEECTTLUS. [Book II. 

the cavalry, and being appointed quaestor, and, though not 
yet a senator, set on an equal footing with senators, and with 
the tribunes of the people elect 1 , I led from the city a de- 
tachment of the army, intrusted to me by Augustus, to join 
his son. Then, in my qusestorship 2 , having given up my 
chance of a province, I was sent by Augustus as his legate 
to his son ; and what prodigious armies of the enemy did we 
behold 3 in that first year ! What opportunities did we im- 
prove, through the wisdom of our leader, so as to exhaust the 
fury of their whole force by dividing it ! With what atten- 
tion 4 to the convenience of the men did we see business 
managed, under the orders of the commander ! With what 
wisdom were the winter quarters regulated ! How labo- 
riously was the enemy surrounded with guards of our troops, 
so that they might not make their way out, but, destitute of 
provisions, and raging in their confinement, might waste their 
spirit and their strength ! 

CXII. An exploit of Messalinus, in the first campaign of 
this war, happy in the issue, as well as resolute in the effort, 
deserves to be recorded. This man, more noble in spirit 
than even in birth, most worthy of having Corvinus for his 
father, and of leaving his surname to his brother Cotta, being 
appointed to command in Illyricum, and, in a sudden insur- 
rection, being surrounded by an army of the enemy, and 
having with him only the twentieth legion, which had then 
but half its complement of men, routed and put to flight a 
force of twenty thousand ; an achievement for which he was 
honoured with triumphal decorations. 

So little confidence had the barbarians in their numbers, 
and so little reliance on their strength, that wherever Caesar 

1 CXI. With the tribunes of the people elect] Designates tribunis plebis. 
According to Lipsius, the tribunes of the people were at this period chosen only 
from the senators. If so, some particular favour was shown to Velleius on this 
occasion, allowing him, though not yet a senator^ to stand on an equality with 
the tribunes. 

2 In my qusestorship, $c] After taking the detachment of the army into Ger- 
many, says Krause, Velleius seems to have returned to Borne to enter upon his 
qusestorship ; and then, during the time that he held that office, to have been 
again despatched to Germany by Augustus in the quality of legate, without 
waiting to take a province at the expiration of his queestorship. 

3 Did we behold] Vidimus, Krause's text hasfudimus, a conjecture of Hein- 
sius. Burman holds to vidimus, as savouring less of boastfulness. 

4 With what attention, $c] The text is here mutilated and obscure. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF EOMAK HISTOEY. 531 

appeared they could not be sure of making any effectual 
effort against him. The division of their army opposed to 
him, being cut off from provisions at our pleasure or con- 
venience, and reduced to mortal famine, and neither daring 
to withstand us when we assailed them, nor to engage with 
us when we offered battle and drew up in line before them, 
took post at last on mount Claudius, and protected them- 
selves with a fortification. But another division, which had 
poured out to meet an army brought from the transmarine 
provinces by Aulus Csecina and Plautius Silvanus, both of 
whom had been consuls, surrounding five of our legions, with 
the auxiliary troops and royal cavalry, (for Ehaemetalces, 
king of Thrace, had joined these two generals, bringing a 
large body of Thracians to assist in the war,) gave them 
such a blow as had nearly proved fatal to them all. The 
king's cavalry was routed ; the horse of the allies put to 
flight ; the cohorts were forced to retreat ; and even at the 
standards of the legions 1 some confusion took place. But 
the courage of the Eoman soldiers, on that occasion, gained 
them more honour than they left to their officers, who, 
widely differing from the practice of the commander-in-chief, 
found themselves in the midst of the enemy, before they had 
ascertained from their scouts in which direction they lay. 
In this perilous emergency, (when some of the military tri- 
bunes were slain, with one prefect of the camp, and some 
prefects of the cohorts, the centurions, also, not having 
escaped, for some of the first rank were killed,) the legions, 
encouraging one another, made a charge upon the enemy, 
and, not content with standing their ground against them, 
broke their line, and gained an unexpected victory. 

About this time, Agrippa 3 , who had been adopted by his 
natural grandfather, on the same day with Tiberius, and had 
in the two last years begun to discover his real character, 
plunging into profligacy with extraordinary depravity of 
mind and feeling, alienated from himself the affection of his 
father by adoption, who was also his grandfather 3 ; and soon 

1 CXII. At the standards of the legions] Apud signa — legionum. Kranse takes 
signa for interior acies. Is apud signa the same as apud vexillarios, in Ernesti's 
sense of vexillarii ? See note # on c. 110. 

2 Agrippa] See c. 104, init. 

3 Also his [ grandfather] An inadvertent repetition; "natural grandfather' ' 
occurring above. 

2m2 



532 YELLEIUS PATEECULUS. [Book II. 

after, sinking every day deeper into vice, he met an end 
suitable to the madness of his conduct. 

CXIII. You may now, Marcus Vinicius, conceive Caesar as 
great in the character of a leader in war, as you see him in 
that of a prince in peace. When he had united his forces, 
those under his immediate command, and those who had 
joined him as auxiliaries, and had brought into one camp 
ten legions, more than seventy auxiliary cohorts, fourteen 
squadrons of horse, more than ten thousand veterans, a great 
number of volunteers, and the numerous cavalry of the king, 
(in short, so great an army, as had never been seen in one 
place since the civil wars,) every one was rejoiced at the 
sight, feeling the utmost confidence of success from their 
numbers. But the general, the best judge of his own pro- 
ceedings, preferring the advantageous to the showy, and, 
as I always saw him act in every war, pursuing what was 
eligible in itself, not what was generally recommended, 
having allowed the army that had joined him to rest a few 
days, to recruit the strength of the men after their march, 
and having decided that it rendered his force too large to be 
kept in order, and too unwieldly to be properly managed, he 
resolved to send it away ; and, after accompanying it through 
a long and most fatiguing march, the difficulty of which can 
hardly be described, (in order that as none would venture to 
attack the whole, so the whole, each nation from apprehension 
for its own territories, might abstain from attacking either of 
the parties on their separation,) he sent it back to the parts 
from which it came, and returning himself to Siscia 1 , in the 
beginning of a very severe winter, appointed lieutenant- 
generals, of whom I was one, to command the several divisions 
in winter quarters. 

CXIV. His conduct was truly amazing, not ostentatious, 
but distinguished by real and solid virtue and usefulness, 
most delightful to experience, most exemplary in its humanity. 
During the whole time of the German and Pannonian wars, 
not one of us, or of those who preceded or followed our 
steps, was at any time sick, but his recovery and health were 
promoted by Caesar with as much care, as if his thoughts, 
which were obliged to attend to such an infinite variety of 

1 CXIII. Siscia] In Pannonia, now Sisseck, at the confluence of the Save and 
Colapis. 






Book II.] COMPENDIUM! OF SOMAN HISTORY. 533 

laborious business, bad no employment but this alone. 
There was a carriage kept always in readiness for such as 
wanted it, and a litter for general use, of which I, as well 
as others, experienced the benefit. Physicians, too, proper 
kinds of food, and the warm bath, introduced for that sole 
purpose, contributed to the health of all. Houses and 
domestics, indeed, were wanting, but no accommodation that 
could either be afforded or desired in them. To this I shall 
add what every one, who was present on the occasions, will 
readily acknowledge to be true, as well as the other circum- 
stances that I have mentioned. The general alone always 
travelled on horseback 1 ; he alone, with those whom he in- 
vited during the greater part of the summer campaigns, sat 
at meals 2 . To such as forbore to follow this strict mode of 
living, he was very indulgent, provided they did no harm by 
their example ; he frequently admonished and reproved, very 
rarely punished ; acting a middle part, dissembling his know- 
ledge of most faults, and preventing the commission of others. 
The winter contributed much to bring the war to a conclu- 
sion. In the following summer, all Pannonia begged for 
peace ; so that the remains of war were confined to Dal- 
matia. So many thousands of brave men who had lately 
threatened Italy with slavery, surrendering their arms, 
(which they had employed at a river called Bathinus 3 ), and 
prostrating themselves at the knees of Caesar, together with 
Bato and Pines, leaders of high reputation, one captive, 
the other submitting, formed a scene which I hope to de- 
scribe at large in my regular history. In autumn, the vic- 
torious army was led back into winter quarters ; and the com- 
mand in chief of all the troops was given by Caesar to Marcus 
Lepidus, a man in fame and fortune nearest to the Caesars ; 
and every one, the longer and better he knows and becomes 
acquainted with him, the more he loves and admires him, 
and acknowledges him to be a credit to the great names from 
which he is descended. 

CXV. Caesar now turned his thoughts and arms to the 

1 CXIY. On horseback] " Not in any carriage, or lectica." Buhnken. 

2 Sat at meals] Ccenavit sedens. Not reclining on a couch. 

3 Bathinus] As this name for a river occurs in no other writer, Krause 
suggests that we should read Bacuntius, now Bosset, a river running into the 
Save. 



534 TELLEIUS PATEKCULTTS. [Book II. 

remaining part of the war in Dalmatia ; in which country, 
how useful an assistant and lieutenant-general he found in 
my brother, Magius Celer Velleianus, is testified by his own 
and his father's declaration; and the record of the high 
honours conferred on him by Caesar at his triumph, confirms 
it. In the beginning of the summer, Lepidus, having drawn 
out the army from winter quarters, and making his way to 
join his general Tiberius, through nations unimpaired in 
strength, still free from the calamities of war, and, in con- 
sequence, daring and ferocious, he succeeded, after struggling 
with the difficulty of the passes, and the force of the enemy, 
and making great havoc of those who opposed him, cutting 
down their corn, burning their houses, and slaughtering their 
men, in reaching the quarters of Caesar, before whom he 
appeared exulting with victory and laden with spoil. In 
reward for these services, which, if performed on his own ac- 
count, w r ould have entitled him to a triumph, he was honoured 
with triumphal decorations ; the will of the senate concurring 
with the judgment of the princes. That summer brought 
this important war to a conclusion, for the Perustae and 
Desitiat^s of Dalmatia, notwithstanding that they were almost 
impregnably secured by their mountainous countries, by the 
fierceness of their temper, by their surprising military skill, 
and more especially by the narrow passes of their forests, 
were at length, after being brought to the utmost extremities, 
reduced to quiet, not by the orders, but by the arms and 
personal exertions, of Caesar himself. In all this great war 
in Germany, I could observe nothing more noble, nothing 
more deserving of admiration, than that the general never 
thought any opportunity of success so attractive as to justify 
a squandering of the lives of his soldiers ; he ever judged the 
safest means the most honourable, and preferred the appro- 
bation of his conscience to the acquisition of fame ; nor were 
the counsels of the general ever swayed by the feelings of 
the army, but the army was always guided by the wisdom of 
the general. 

CXVI. In the Dalmatian war, G-ermanicus, being sent for- 
ward into various places of difficulty and danger, exhibited great 
proofs of courage ; andVibius Postumus, who had been consul, 
and was governor of Dalmatia, obtained, by his activity and 
diligence in the service, the distinction of triumphal decora- 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF EOMAN HISTOBY. 535 

tions; which honour, a few years before, Passienus and 
Cossus, men celebrated for certain virtues of opposite kinds, 
had attained in Africa. But Cossus converted this testimony 
of his success into a surname for his son 1 , a youth formed by 
nature as a pattern of every virtue. Lucius Apronius, who 
shared in the actions of Postumus, merited, by his excellent 
conduct in that service, those honours which he afterwards 
obtained. I wish that it were not proved by more remarkable 
instances how much Fortune rules in everything ; but in cases 
of this kind her power may be abundantly recognised ; for 
JElius Lamia, a man of primitive manners, who always tem- 
pered with humanity the severity of old times, failed, after 
discharging the most honourable employments in Germany, 
Illyricum, and Africa, not of deserving, but of an oppor- 
tunity of obtaining triumphal honours. Aulus Licinius 
Nerva Silianus, too, son of Publius Silius, a man whom not 
even those who knew him could sufficiently admire, was pre- 
maturely snatched away by fate, (all the hopes of an excellent 
citizen and most upright commander being cut off,) and pre- 
vented from enjoying the fruit of the prince's distinguished 
friendship, and from attaining a height of exultation as lofty 
as that of his father. If any one shall say that I looked for 
a place for mentioning these men, he will but charge me with 
what I readily admit ; for candidly to do justice, without ex- 
ceeding the truth, is no subject of accusation in the eyes of 
the right-minded. 

CXVII. Csesar had but just concluded the war in Pan- 
nonia and Dalmatia, when, within five days after the final 
termination of it, mournful news [arrived 2 ] from Germany ; 
that Varus was killed, three legions cut to pieces, as many 
troops of cavalry, and six cohorts ; the only favour allowed to 
us by Fortune being, that [this calamity did not happen] 
while the commander-in-chief was still engaged [in the 
Dalmatic war, when the rebellious Germans might have 
formed a junction with the enemy in that country.] But 
the occasion, and the character of the leader, demand some 
attention. Quintilius Varus was born of a noble rather than 
illustrious family, was of a mild disposition, of sedate man- 

1 CXVI. A surname for his son] He left to his son the surname Gcetulicus. 

2 CXVII. Arrived] The verb is wanting in the original, as well as the words 
inclosed in brackets below, which are suggested by Vossius. 



536 VELLEIUS PATERCULTJS. [Book II. 

ners, and, being somewhat indolent as well in body as in 
mind, was more accustomed to ease in a camp than to action 
in the field. How far he was from despising money, Syria, 
of which he had been governor, afforded proof; for, going a 
poor man into that rich province, he became a rich man, and 
left it a poor province. Being appointed commander of the 
army in Germany, he imagined that the inhabitants had 
nothing human but the voice 1 and limbs, and that men who 
could not be tamed by the sword, might be civilised by law. 
With this notion, having marched into the heart of Germany, 
as if among people who delighted in the sweets of peace, he 
spent the summer in deciding controversies, and ordering the 
pleadings before a tribunal. 

CXVIII. But those people, though a person unacquainted 
with them would hardly believe it, are, while extremely 
savage, exquisitely artful, a race, indeed, formed by nature for 
deceit; and, accordingly, by introducing fictitious disputes 
one after another, by sometimes prosecuting each other for 
pretended injuries, and then returning thanks for the decision 
of these suits by Roman equity, for the civilisation of their 
barbarous state by this new system, and for the termination 
by law of disputes which used to be determined by arms, they 
at length lulled Quintilius into such a perfect feeling of 
security, that he fancied himself a city prretor dispensing- 
justice in the forum, instead of the commander of an army in 
the middle of Germany. It was at this time that a youth of 
illustrious birth, the son of Segimer, prince of that nation, 
named Arminius, brave in action, quick in apprehension, and 
of activity of mind far beyond the state of barbarism, showing 
in his eyes and countenance the ardour of his feelings, (a 
youth who had constantly accompanied our army in the 
former war, and had obtained the privileges of a Roman 
citizen, and the rank of a knight,) took advantage of the 
general's indolence to perpetrate an act of atrocity, not un- 
wisely judging that no man is more easily cut off than he who 
feels no fear, and that security is very frequently the com- 
mencement of calamity. He communicated his thoughts at 
first to a few, and afterwards to more, stating to them, and 
assuring them, that the Romans might be cut off by sur- 

1 Nothing human but the voice, §c.~\ " He thought them mere brutes, and 
therefore undertook their transformation into men." Krause. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF ROMAN HISTORY. 537 

prise ; he then proceeded to add action to resolution, and 
fixed a time for carrying a plot into effect. Notice of his 
intention was given to Varus by Segestes, a man of that 
nation, worthy of credit, and of high rank ; but fate was not 
to be opposed by warnings, and had already darkened the 
mental vision of the Boinan general. Such, indeed, is the 
nature of things, that, in general, when the gods 1 design to 
reverse a man's good fortune, they perplex his thoughts, 
and, what is most distressing, make it appear that his suffer- 
ings happen to him through his own fault, so that accident 
is laid to the account of guilt. Varus refused to credit the 
information, asserting that he felt a trust in the good- will of 
the people, proportioned to his kindness towards them. How- 
ever, after this first premonition, there was no time left for 
a second. 

CXIX. The circumstances of this most dreadful calamity, 
than which none more grievous ever befel the Romans in a 
foreign country, since the destruction of Crassus in Parthia, 
I will endeavour to relate in my larger history, as has been 
done by others. At present we can only lament the whole. 
An army unrivalled in bravery, the flower of the Eoman 
troops in discipline, vigour, and experience in war, was 
brought, through the supineness of its leader, the perfidy of 
the enemy, and the cruelty of Fortune, into a situation utterly 
desperate, (in which not even an opportunity was allowed 
the men of extricating themselves by fighting, as they wished, 
some being even severely punished by the general, for using 
Eoman arms with Eoman spirit,) and, hemmed in by woods, 
lakes, and bodies of the enemy in ambush, was entirely cut 
off by those foes whom they had ever before slaughtered like 
cattle, and of whose life and death the mercy or severity of 
the Eomans had always been the arbitrator. The leader 
showed some spirit in dying, though none in fighting ; for, 
imitating the example of his father and grandfather, he ran 
himself through with his sword. Of two prefects of the 
camp, Lucius Eggius gave as honourable an example of 
valour as Ceionius gave of baseness ; for, after the sword had 
destroyed the greater part of the army, Ceionius advised a 
surrender, choosing to die by the hand of an executioner 

1 CXVIII. When the gods, cj-c] A repetition of the sentiment at the end of 
c. 57. 



538 YELLEITJS PATEKCTJLUS. [Book II. 

rather than in battle. Numonius Vala, a lieutenant-general 
under Varus, who in other cases conducted himself as a 
modest and well-meaning man, was, on this occasion, guilty 
of abominable treachery ; for, leaving the infantry uncovered 
by the cavalry, he fled with the horse of the allies, and at- 
tempted to reach the Rhine. But Fortune took vengeance 
on his misdeed ; for he did not survive his deserted coun- 
trymen, but perished in the act of desertion. The savage 
enemy mangled the half-burnt body of Varus ; his head was 
cut off, and brought to Maroboduus, and being sent by him 
to Caesar, was at length honoured with burial in the sepul- 
chre of his family. 

CXX. On receiving this intelligence, Caesar hurried home 
to his father ; and the constant patron of the Roman empire 
undertook its cause as usual. He was despatched to Ger- 
many, he secured the peace of Gaul, arranged the troops, 
fortified garrisons, and estimating himself by his own great- 
ness, not by the confidence of the enemy who threatened 
Italy with an invasion like that of the Cimbri and Teutones, 
crossed the Rhine with his army. He thus made war upon 
a nation whom his father and his country would have been 
satisfied with keeping at a distance ; he penetrated into the 
interior, opened roads, wasted the lands, burned the houses, 
overthrew all opposition, and then, with abundance of glory, 
and without losing a man of those who crossed the river, 
returned to winter quarters. Let due credit be given to 
Lucius Asprenas, who, serving as lieutenant-general under 
his uncle Varus, saved, by his manly and active exertions, 
a body of two legions which he commanded, from sharing in 
that dreadful calamity ; and by going down speedily to the 
lower winter quarters, confirmed the allegiance of the nations 
on the hither side of the Rhine, which had now begun to 
waver. But some people, while they allow that he saved 
the living, are still of opinion, that he dishonestly possessed 
himself of the property of those slain with Varus, and, as far 
as he pleased, made himself the heir of the slaughtered army. 
The bravery of a prefect of the camp, too, named Lucius 
Caeditius, and of a party with him who were surrounded by 
a vast multitude of Germans at Alison, is much to be 
praised ; for, by forming their plans with judgment, using 
vigilant foresight, and watching their opportunity, they sur- 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM! OF ROMAN HISTOBY. 539 

mounted difficulties which want rendered insupportable, and 
the force of the enemy almost insuperable, and opened for 
themselves with the sword a passage to their friends. Hence 
it is evident, that Varus, in other cases certainly a man of 
character and of good intentions, lost himself, and that noble 
army, rather through want of conduct in the commander, 
than through deficiency of courage in the soldiery. "While 
the Germans were venting their rage on the prisoners, an 
act deserving of renown was performed by Cselius Caldus, a 
youth who did credit to his ancient family ; he took hold of 
a part of the chains with which he was bound, and dashed it 
against his head with such force, that his blood and brains 
gushed out together, and he immediately expired. 

CXXI. The same courage and good fortune which had 
animated Tiberius at the beginning of his command, still 
continued to attend him. After he had broken down the 
force of the enemy in various expeditions by land and sea, 
and had settled important affairs in Gaul, and composed, by 
coercion more than by punishment, the most violent commo- 
tions of the populace at Vienne ; and after the senate and 
people of Eome, on a request being made by his father, that 
he might be invested with authority equal to his own in all 
the provinces and armies, had passed a decree to that effect, 
(for it would indeed have been unreasonable, if what he had 
secured should not be under his command, and if he, who 
was the first to bring succour, should not be thought en- 
titled to a share of honour,) he returned to Eome, and 
celebrated his triumph over Pannonia and Dalmatia, which 
had been long due to him, but had been deferred on account 
of the continuance of the wars. His triumph was magnifi- 
cent, but who can be surprised at magnificence in a Caesar ? 
Who, however, will not admire the kindness of Fortune in 
this, that fame did not tell us, as was usual, that all the 
greatest leaders of the enemy were slain, but that the 
triumph displayed them to us in chains ? On this occasion 
my brother and I had the happiness of accompanying him, 
among the most eminent personages, and those honoured 
with the principal distinctions. 

CXXII. Among other instances in which the singular 
moderation of Tiberius Caesar shines forth conspicuously, 
this claims our admiration, that although, beyond all doubt. 



540 YELLEIUS PATEKCULUS. [Book II. 

he merited seven triumphs, he was yet satisfied with three. 
For who can doubt that, for reducing Armenia, fixing a king 
on its throne, (on whose head he placed the diadem with 
his own hand,) and for regulating the affairs of the east, he 
ought to have enjoyed a triumph ? Or that, for his victories 
over the Bhseti and Yindelici, he deserved to enter the city 
in a triumphal car ? And when, after his adoption, he ex- 
hausted the strength of Germany in three years of continued 
war, the same honour ought to have been offered him, and 
accepted by him. Again, after the disaster of the army of 
Varus, the rapid subjugation of the same Germany ought 
to have furnished a triumph for the same consummate gene- 
ral. But with respect to him you can hardly determine 
whether you should admire more his extraordinary exertions 
amid toil and danger, or his moderation with regard to 
honours. 

CXXIII. "We have now arrived at a period in which very 
great apprehension prevailed. For Augustus Caesar, having 
sent his grandson Germanicus to finish the remainder of the 
war in Germany, and intending to send his son Tiberius into 
Illyricum, to settle in peace what he had subdued in war, 
proceeded with the latter into Campania, with the design 
of escorting him, and at the same time to be present at the 
exhibition of athletic sports, which the Neapolitans had re- 
solved to give in honour of him. Although he had before 
this felt symptoms of debility and declining health, yet, as 
the vigour of his mind withstood them, he accompanied his 
son, and, parting from him at Beneventum, proceeded to 
Nola ; where, finding that his health grew worse every day, 
and well knowing whose presence was requisite to the accom- 
plishment of his wish to leave all things in safety after him, 
he hastily recalled his son, who hurried back to the father of 
his country, and arrived earlier than was expected. Augustus 
then declared that his mind was at ease ; and being folded in 
the embrace of Tiberius, to whom he recommended the ac- 
complishment of his father's views and his own, he resigned 
himself to die whenever the fates should ordain. He was in 
some degree revived by the sight and conversation of the 
person most dear to him ; but the destinies soon overpower- 
ing every effort for his recovery, and his body resolving itself 
into its first principles, he restored to heaven his celestial 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF SOMAN HISTORY. 541 

spirit, in the seventy- sixth year of his age, and in the consu- 
late of Pompey and Apuleius. 

CXXIV. The universal apprehensions excited by this 
event ; the alarm of the senate, the consternation of the 
people, the fears of the world, and the narrow line between 
safety and destruction on which we stood on that occasion, 
I have neither leisure to describe in this hasty narrative, 
nor can he, who has leisure, describe satisfactorily. One 
thing I can join with the voice of the public in declaring, that 
whereas we had dreaded the total ruin of the world, we did 
not perceive that it felt the slightest shock ; and so powerful 
was the majesty of one man, that there was no occasion for 
arms, either to protect the good, or restrain the bad. Yet- 
there was one struggle, as it may be called, in the state, 
between the senate and people of Home on one side, insisting 
on Caesar's assuming his father's station, and himself on the 
other, desiring leave to stand on a level with his countrymen, 
instead of acting in the exalted character of a prince. At 
length he was overcome by reason, not by the attractions of 
honour ; because he saw that whatever he did not take under 
his care would be lost. His case was singular in this, that he 
refused the sovereignty almost as long as others fought to 
obtain it. After he had seen his father restored to heaven, 
and had paid respect to his body with human, and to his name 
with Divine honours, the first act of his administration was 
the regulation of the elections, on a plan left by the deified 
Augustus in his own handwriting. At this time, my brother 
and I had the honour, as Caesar's candidates 1 , of being elected 
praetors, in the places next to men of the highest rank, and 
the priests ; and we were remarkable in being the last recom- 
mended by Augustus, and the first by Tiberius Caesar. 

CXXV. The Commonwealth quickly reaped the fruit of its 
determination and its wish ; and we soon learned what we 
must have suffered if that wish had not been complied with, 
and how greatly we had gained by its being fulfilled. For 
the army which was serving in Germany under the command 
of Germanicus, and the legions which were in Illyricum, 
being both seized at the same time with a kind of outrageous 
fury, and a violent passion for spreading universal disorder, 

i CXXIV. Caesar's candidates] Candidatis Ccesaris. Tiiat is, brought for- 
ward and recommended by Caesar. See Suet. Aug., c. 56 ; Quintil., vi., 3. 



542 YELLEIUS PATEKCULUS. [Book II. 

demanded a new leader, a new constitution, a new republic ; 
the j even had the confidence to threaten that they would 
give laws to the senate, and to the prince ; and they at- 
tempted to fix the amount of their pay, and the period of their 
service. They proceeded even to use their arms ; the sword 
was drawn ; and the impunity which was allowed them broke 
forth almost into the extremity of violence. They wanted, 
indeed, a head, to lead them against their country, but 
there were numbers ready to follow. However, the mature 
wisdom of the veteran emperor, who, refusing most of their 
demands, promised some indulgences without lowering his 
dignity, soon allayed and suppressed all these outrageous 
proceedings ; severe vengeance being inflicted on the authors 
of the mutiny, and milder punishment on the rest. On this 
occasion, as Germanicus exerted his usual activity, so 
Drusus, who was sent by his father expressly to extinguish 
the flame of this military tumult, blazing, as it was, with 
enormous fury, enforced the ancient and primitive discipline, 
and by strong measures, though not without danger to him- 
self 1 , put a stop to those excesses, so pernicious both in 
the act and in the example ; and reduced to obedience the 
soldiers that pressed around him, by the aid of the very 
swords with which he was beset. In these efforts he found 
an excellent assistant in Junius Blsesus, a man of whom it is 
difficult to decide whether his services were greater in the 
camp or in the city. A few years after, being proconsul in 
Africa, he gained triumphal decorations, and the title of 
imperator. And being entrusted with the presidency of 
Spain, and the command of the army there, he was able, by 
his excellent abilities, and with the reputation which he had 
gained in the war in Illyricum, to keep the province in per- 
fect peace and tranquillity ; for while his fidelity to the 
emperor led him to adopt the most salutary measures, he had 
likewise ample authority to carry into execution what he 
planned. His care and fidelity were closely copied by Dola- 
bella, a man of the noblest simplicity of character, when he 
commanded on the coast of Ulyricum. 

CXXVI. Of the transactions of the last sixteen years, 
which have passed in the view, and are fresh in the memory 

1 CXXV. Not without danger to himself] Ancipitia sibi. These words are 
in some way corrupt ; and the sentence is otherwise defective. 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF KOMA]* HISTOEY. 543 

of all, who shall presume to give a full account? Caesar 
deified his parent, not by arbitrary authority, but by paying 
religious respect to his character. He did not call him a 
divinity, but made him one. In that time, credit has been 
restored to mercantile affairs, sedition has been banished 
from the forum, corruption from the Campus Martius, and 
discord from the senate-house ; justice, equity, and industry, 
which had long lain buried in neglect, have been revived in 
the state; authority has been given to the magistrates, 
majesty to the senate, and solemnity to the courts of 
justice ; the dissensions in the theatre 1 have been suppressed, 
and all men have had either a desire excited in them, or a 
necessity imposed on them, of acting with integrity. Vir- 
tuous acts are honoured, wicked deeds are punished. The 
humble respects the powerful, without dreading him ; the 
powerful takes precedence of the humble without contemn- 
ing him. "When were provisions more moderate in price ? 
When were the blessings of peace more abundant ? Au- 
gustan peace, diffused over all the regions of the east and 
the west, and all that lies between the south and north, 
preserves every corner of the world free from all dread of 
predatory molestation. Fortuitous losses, not only of indi- 
viduals, but of cities, the munificence of the prince is ready 
to relieve. The cities of Asia have been repaired; the 
provinces have been secured from the oppression of their 
governors. Honour promptly rewards the deserving, and 
the punishment of the guilty, if slow, is certain 2 . Interest 
gives place to justice, solicitation to merit. For the best 
of princes teaches his countrymen to act rightly by his own 
practice ; and while he is the greatest in power, is still 
greater in example. 

CXXVII. It is seldom that men who have arrived at 
eminence, have not had powerful coadjutors in steering the 
course of their fortunes ; thus the two Scipios had the two 
Laelii, whom they set in every respect on a level with them- 

1 CXXVT. Dissensions in the theatre] These were not of so small importance 
as might be supposed, being sometimes attended with great bloodshed. See Suet. 
Tib., c. 57; Tacit. Ann., L, 77. 

2 If slow, is certain] Sera, sed aliqua. Lipsius would read sed cequa, but 
Gruter and others think that aliqua may be right ; i. e. some punishment is sure 
to follow. 



544 VELLEITTS PATEECULUS. [Book II. 

selves ; thus the emperor Augustus had Marcus Agrippa, 
and after him Statilius Taurus. The newness of these 
men's families proved no obstruction to their attainment of 
many consulships and triumphs, and of sacerdotal offices in 
great numbers. For great affairs demand great co-operators ; 
(in small matters 1 , the smallness of assistance does not mar 
the proceedings ;) and it is for the interest of the public, 
that what is necessary for business should be eminent in 
dignity, and that usefulness should be fortified with influence. 
In conformity with these examples, Tiberius Caesar has had, and 
still has, iElius Sejanus, a most excellent coadjutor in all the 
toils of government, a man whose father was chief of the 
equestrian order, and who on his mother's side is connected 
with some of the most illustrious and ancient families, en- 
nobled by high preferments ; who has brothers, cousins, 
and an uncle, of consular rank; who is remarkable for 
fidelity in the discharge of his duties, and for ability to en- 
dure fatigue, the constitution of his body corresponding with 
the vigour of his mind ; a man of pleasing gravity, and of 
unaffected cheerfulness ; appearing, in the despatch of busi- 
ness, like a man quite at ease ; assuming nothing to himself, 
and hence receiving every honour ; always deeming himself 
inferior to other men's estimation of him ; calm in looks and 
conversation, but in mind indefatigably vigilant. 

CXXVIII. In esteem for Sejanus' s virtues, the judgment 
of the public has long vied with that of the prince. Nor is 
it at all new with the senate and people of Eome, to con- 
sider the most meritorious as the most noble. The men of 
old, before the first Punic war, three hunded years ago, ex- 
alted to the summit of dignity Titus Coruncanius, a man of 
no family, bestowing on him, beside other honours, the 
office of chief pontiff; they promoted Spurius Carvilius, a 
man of equestrian birth, and afterwards Marcus Cato, an- 
other new man, (not a native citizen, but born atTusculum,) 
as well as Mummius Achaicus, to consulships, censorships, 
and triumphs. And they who considered Cains Marius, a 
man of the most obscure ..origin, as unquestionably the first 
in the Roman nation, before his sixth consulship ; who had 
so high an esteem for Marcus Tullius, that he could obtain, 

1 CXXVII. In small matters, cju] "If the words be Velleius's, the observa- 
tion is trifling, and utterly unworthy of him." Kranse. 



Book II.] CO^PE^DIUM OF KOMAX HISTOEY. 545 

almost by his sole recommendation, the highest offices for 
whomsoever he chose ; and who refused nothing to Asinius 
Pollio, which men of the noblest birth had to obtain with 
infinite labour, were certainly of opinion that he who pos- 
sessed the greatest virtues, was entitled to the greatest 
honours. The natural imitation of other men's examples 
led Ca?sar to make trial of Sejanus, and occasioned Sejanus 
to bear a share of the burdens of the prince ; and induced 
the senate and people of Eome cheerfully to call to the 
guardianship of their safety him whom they saw best quali- 
fied for the charge. 

CXXIX. Having exhibited a general view of the ad- 
ministration of Tiberius Caesar, let us now enumerate a few 
particulars respecting it. "With what wisdom did he bring 
to Eome Bhascuporis, the murderer of Cotys, his own 
brother's son, and partner in the kingdom, employing in 
that affair the services of Pomponius Flaccus, a man of 
consular rank, naturally inclined to all that is honourable, 
and by pare virtue always meriting fame, but never eagerly 
pursuing it ! With what solemnity as a senator and a judge, 
not as a prince, does he # * * hear 1 causes in person ! How 
speedily did he crush * # # # ~ when he became ungrateful, 
and attempted innovations ! With what precepts did he 
form the mind of his Germanicus, and train him in the rudi- 
ments of war in his own camp, so that he afterwards hailed 
him the conqueror of Germany ! What honours did he 
heap on him in his youth, the magnificence of his triumph 
corresponding to the grandeur of his exploits ! How often 
has he honoured the people with donations ! How readily 
has he, when he could do it with the sanction of the senate. 
supplied senators with property suitable to their rank, 
neither encouraging extravagance, nor suffering honourable 
poverty to be stripped of dignity ! In what an honourable 
style did he send his Germanicus to the transmarine pro- 
vinces ! With what energy, employing Drusus as a minister 
and coadjutor in his plans, did he force Maroboduus, who 

1 CXXIX. Does he * * * hear] Pressius audit. The vrordj)j*essius, which 
can hardly be sound, though Perizonius tries to defend it, I have Dot attempted 
to translate. 

2 Did he crush * * *] Whose name should fill this blank is doubtful. Krause 
thinks that of Archelaus, king of Cappadocia. 

2x 



54i6 YELLEIUS PATERCULUS. [Book II. 

was clinging to the soil of the kingdom which he had pos- 
sessed, to come forth, like a serpent concealed in the earth, 
(let me speak without offence to his majesty,) by the salu- 
tary charms of his counsels! How honourably, yet how 
far from negligently, does he keep watch oyer him! How 
formidable a war, excited by the Gallic chief Sacrovir and 
Julius Floras, did he suppress, and with such amazing ex- 
pedition and energy, that the Roman people learned that 
they were conquerors, before they knew that they were at 
war, and the news of victory outstripped the news of the 
danger ! The African war too, perilous as it was, and 
daily increasing in strength, was quickly terminated under 
his auspices and direction. 

CXXX. What structures has he erected in his own name, 
and those of his family ! With what dutiful munificence, 
eyen exceeding belief, is he building a temple to his father ! 
With how laudable a generosity of disposition is he repairing 
eyen the buildings of Cnseus Pompey, that were consumed 
by fire ! Whatever has been at any time conspicuously 
great, he regards as his own, and under his protection. With 
what liberality has he at all times, and particularly at the 
recent fire on the Caelian Mount, repaired the losses of people 
of all conditions out of his own property ! With what perfect 
ease to the public does he manage the raising of troops, a 
business of constant and extreme apprehension, without the 
consternation attendant on a levy ! If either nature allows 
us, or the humility of man may take upon itself, to make a 
modest complaint of such things to the gods, what has he 
deserved that, in the first place, Drusus Libo should form his 
execrable plots ; and, in the next, that Silius and Piso should 
follow his example, one of whom he raised to dignity, the 
other he promoted ? That I may pass to greater matters, 
(though he accounted eyen these very great,) what has he 
deserved, that he should lose his sons in their youth, or his 
grandson by Drusus ? But we have only spoken of causes for 
sorrow, we must now come to occasions of shame. With what 
violent griefs, Marcus Vinicius, has he felt his mind tortured 
in the last three years ! How long has his heart been con- 
sumed with affliction, and, what is most unhappy, such as he 
was obliged to conceal, while he was compelled to grieve, and 
to feel indignation and shame, at the conduct of his daughter- 



Book II.] COMPENDIUM OF BOMAN HISTORY. 547 

in-law 1 and his grandson 2 ! And the sorrows of this period 
have been aggravated by the loss of his most excellent 
mother, a woman who resembled the gods more than human 
beings ; and whose power no man ever felt but in the relief 
of distress or the conferring of honour. 

CXXXI. Let our book be concluded with a prayer. 
O Jupiter Capitolinus, Jupiter Stator ! O Mars Gradivus, 
author of the Eoman name ! O Yesta, guardian of the eternal 
fire ! O all ye deities who have exalted the present magnitude 
of the Eoman empire to a position of supremacy over the 
world, guard, preserve, and protect, I entreat and conjure 
you, in the name of the Commonwealth, our present state, 
our present peace, [our present prince 3 !] And when he 
shall have completed a long course on earth, grant him suc- 
cessors to the remotest ages, and such as shall have abilities 
to support the empire of the world as powerfully as we have 
seen him support it ! All the just designs of our country- 
men * # * * . 

1 CXXX. Daughter-in-law] Agrippina, the wife of Germanicus. 

2 Grandson] Nero, the son of Germanicus. Velleius rnerelj echoes the calum- 
nies of Tiberius on both these characters. 

9 CXXXI. [Our present prince!] The words liunc principem, which the text 
requires, are supplied from a conjecture of Lipsius. The conclusion of the prayer 
is imperfect. 



2n2 



INDEX. 



Abbreviations.— C, Conspiracy of Catiline; J., Jugurthine War; Fr., Frag- 
ments of Sallust's History ; Ep. i., ii., Pseudo-Sallust's Epistles to Csesar ; FL, 
Florus; V., Yelleius Paterculus. 



Aboeigines of Italy, C, 6 

Acerrans made Roman citizens, V., i. 14 

Achrean war, Fl., ii. 10 

Achseans driven out of Laconia, V., i. 3. 
Defeated by Metellus, V v i. 11. Sub- 
dued by Mummius, V., ii. 38 

Achaia, Greece so called by the Romans, 
Fl., ii. 7. Joins Antiochus, Fl., ii. 8 

Acilius Glabrio, Fl., ii. 8 

Actium, battle of, Fl , iv. 11 ; V., ii. 84 

Adherbal, son of Micipsa, J., 5. At- 
tacked by Jugurtlia. and flees to 
Rxmie, J., 13. His speech to the 
senate, J., 14. Is assigned the less 
valuable half of Numidia, J., 16. Is 
attacked by Jugurtha ; his pusillani- 
mity, J., 20. Is defeated, and flees to 
Cirta, J, 21. His letter to the senate, 
J., 24. Surrenders to Jugurtlia, who 
puts him to death, J., 26. See FL, 
iii.l 

Adrumetum, J., 19 

JSetes, FL, hi. 5 

iEgisthus, V., i. 1 

iEmilius. See Paulus 

^hieas, C, 6 ; FL, 1 

JEolians, V., i. 4 

JEqui and Volsci, FL, i. 11 

^schylus, V., i. 16 

^tolian war, FL, ii. 9; V., ii. 38 

Afranius and Petreius in Spain, FL, iv. 
2. Afranius's death, ib. 

Afranius, comic writer, V., i. 17 

Africa, description of it, J., 17. Made a 
province, V., ii. 38 

African war against Csesar, V., ii. 54 

Agamemnon, V., i. 1 

Agrippa, Octavius's admiral, V., ii. 89. 
Marries Julia, V., ii. 93- Dies, V., ii. 96 

Agrippa, his son, adopted by Augustus, 
V., ii. 104, 112 

Alba, built by Ascanius, FL, i. 1. "War 
of the Albans and Romans, FL, i. 3. 
Their faithlessness, FL, i. 3- The city 
demolished, ib. See V., i. 14 



Albania reduced, V., ii. 40 

Albinus, Lucius, FL, i. 13 

Albinus, Spurius, consul, his eagerness 
for war, J., 35. Has the province of 
Numidia, J., 35. Goes to war with 
Jngurtha, J., 36. His activity and 
subsequent tardiness, ib. Quits Nu- 
midia to hold the comitia at Rome, 
ib. Returns to the army after the 
defeat of his brother, J., 39 

Alcmseon, archon at Athens, V., i. 8 

Alesia, FL, iii. 10 ; V., ii- 17 

Aletes builds Corinth, V., i., 3 

Alexander the Great, V., i. 6. Compared 
with Caesar, V., ii. 41 

Alexandria built, V., i. 14 

Allia, river, FL, i. 13 

Allies of Rome, war with, Fl., iii. 18 

Allobroges, deputies from, C, 40. State 
of their country, ib. Their hesita- 
tion, and resolution, C, 41. Procure a 
written oath from certain of the con- 
spirators, €.,' 44. Are arrested at the 
Milvian Bridge, C, 45. Receive re- 
wards for their information from the 
senate, C, 50. See Fl.,iv. 1. War of 
the Romans with the Allobroges, FL. 
iii. 2. /S^ V., ii. 10 

Altars of the Philseni, J., 19 

Ambiorix, FL, iii. 10 

Amulius, FL, i. 1 

Amyntas, king, joins Augustus, V.,ii. 84 

Ancus Marcius, his reign, FL, i. 4, 8 

Annius, Caius, governor of Leptis, J., 
77 

Annius, Lucius, tribune, J., 37 

Annius, Quintus, C, 17 

Antiochus, Fr., B. iv. (Letter of Mithri- 
dates). War of the Romans with him, 
FL, ii. 8 

Antiochus Epiphanes, V., i. 10 

Antonius, Caius, has a view to the con- 
sulship, C, 21. His private circum- 
stances, ib. Sent in pursuit of Cati- 
line, C, 36. Approaches Catiline's 



INDEX. 



549 



army, C., 56. Not present in the 

battle with Catiline, C, 59 
Antony, Lucius, V., ii. 74 
Antony, Mark, offers a crown to Caesar, 

Pl.,iv.2 ; V., ii. 56. A public disturber, 

PL, iv. 3, 5. 6, 9. Proscribes his uncle, 

iv. 6. Conquered at Mutina, PI., iv. 4. 

Goes against Brutus and Cassius, PI., 

iv. 7. Defeated by the Parthians, PL, 

iv. 10. By Augustus, PL, iv. 11 ; V., 

ii. 84. Kills himself, PL, iv. 11 ; V., ii. 

87- See also V., ii. 60, 63, 65, 82 
Antony, M., orator, V., ii. 9. Killed by 

Marius, Y-, ii. 22 
Appius Claudius Caecus, his verses, Ep. 

ii. 1 
Appius Claudius the Decemvir, PL, i. 24 
Appius Pulcher, PL, ii. 10 
Apuleius, sedition of, PL, hi. 16 
Aquae Sextiae, PL, hi. 3 
Aquilius poisons springs in Pergamus, 

PL, ii. 20 
Aquitani, PL, iii. 10 
Archelaus, general of the Pontic armv, 

Pr.,B.iv. (Letter of Mithridates) ; PL, 

iii. 5 
Archilochus, poet, V., i. 5 
Archons at Athens, V., i. 2, 8 
Ardea, PL, i. 7 

Ariobarzanes, PL, iii. 5 ; iv. 2 
Ariovistus, PL, iii. 10 
Aristonicus, son of Attalus,Pr., B. iv. 

(Letter of Mithridates) 
Aristonicus in Pergamus, PL, ii. 20 ; 

V., ii. 4 
Aristophanes, poet, V., i. 16 
Aristotle, ib. 
Armenians, J., 18. Subdued by Pompey, 

and under Augustus, PL, iv. 12 ; V., 

ii. 94 
Arminius cuts off Varus, Y., ii. US 
Arretium, C, 36 
Arsaces, letter of Mithridates to, Pr., B. 

iv. 
Artabazes, PL, iii. 5 
Artavasdes, king of Armenia, V., ii. 82 
Aruns, PL, i. 10 
Arverni, PL, iii. 10 
Asia, by some included in Europe, J., 

17. A Roman province, Y., ii. 4, 38,126 
Asinius Pollio, PL, iv. 12 ; Y., ii. 36, 73, 

76,86 
Aspar, an instrument of Jugurtha, J., 

108, 112 
Assyrians, universal empire of, Y., i. 6 
Asturians subdued, PL, iv. 12 
Athenians, C, 2. Their exploits not so 

great as they are represented, C, 8. 
onquered by the Lacedaemonians, 
C.,51 
Athenio, leader of the slaves in Sicily, 

PL, iii. 19 
Athens occupied by Mithridates, PL, 
iii. 5. Reduced by Sylla, ib. Archons 
of, V., i. 2. Colonies, V., i. 4. Genius, 



Y., i. 17. Paithful to Rome, Y., ii. 23. 
Pamous decree at, Y., ii. 58 

Atreus, Y., i. 7 

Attalus, king of Pergamus, his will, Pr., 
B. iv. (Letter of Mithridates) ; PL, 
ii. 20 ; Y., ii. 4 

Attius Naevius, the augur, PL, i. 5 

Attius, writer of tragedy, V., i. 17 ; ii. 9 

Augustus Caesar, adopted by Julius 
Caesar, Y., ii. 59. Resolves to avenge 
the death of Caesar, PL, iv. 3. Regu- 
lates the affairs of the empire, ib. 
Defeats Antony at Mutina, FL, iv. 4. 
At Perusia, PL, iv. 5; Y., ii. 76. At 
Actium, PL, iv. 11; Y., ii. 85. Sub- 
dues the Cantabrians, PL, iv. 12. 
Goes against Cassius and Brutus, PL, 
iv. 7 ; Y., ii. 70. Contemns a triumph, 
PL, iv. 12. Shuts the temple of Janus, 
ib. His wars with foreign nations, ib. 
See V., ii. 60, 61, 65, 77, 79, 80, 89, 100. 
Adopts Caius and Lucius, V., ii. 96. 
Adopts Tiberius and Agrippa, V., ii. 
103 

Aulus, brother of Albinus, left in com- 
mand by him, J., 36, 37. Poolishly at- 
tacks Suthul, J., 37- Deluded and 
overcome by Jugurtha, J., 38. His 
troops obliged to pass under the yoke, 
ib. 

Aurelia Orestilla, C-, 15, 35 

Autronius, Publius, C., 17, 18 

Avaricum, PL, iii. 10 

Aventine Mount, secessions to, J., 31 

Babylon, Y.,i. 6 

Baebius, Caius, a tribune of the people, 
bribed by Jugurtha, J., 33. His 
audacity, J., 34 

Balearic isles subdued, PL, iii. S 

Bathinus, river, V., ii. 114 

Belgae, PL, iii. 10 

Belfienus, pnetor at Utica, J., 104 

Bestia, Lucius, C, 17. Appointed to 
make a charge against Cicero, C, 43 

Bestia, Lucius Calpurnius, consul, J., 
72. Able, but avaricious, J., 28. Has 
the conduct of the war against Ju- 
gurtha, J., 28. Bribed by him, J M 29. 
Escapes condemnation, J., 34. See 
PL, iii. 1 

Bibulus, Ep. i. 9 ; V., ii. 44 

Bithynia bequeathed to the Romans, 
Y., ii. 4. Recovered from Nicomedes, 
PL, iii. 5 

Bituitus, a Gallic king, PL, iii. 1 

Bocchus, king of Mauretania, J., 19. 
Pather-in-law of Jugurtha, J., 80. 
Joins him, ib. His instability, J., 97. 
Treats secretly with Marius, J., 102. 
His irresolution, ib. Sends ambas- 
sadors to Marius and to Rome, J., 
103. Reply that he receives from the 
•senate, J., 104. His duplicity, J., 10S, 
109. His address to Sylla, J., 110. 



550 



INDEX. 



Determines to betray Jiururtha, J., 
112. See PL, iii. 1 

Boioheuiam, V., ii. 109 

Bojorix, FL, iii. 3 

Bomilcar, an adherent of Jugurtha, 
procures the death of Massiva, J., 35. 
Escapes by Jugurtha's means, ib. 
Commands in Jugurtha's army, J., 
49, 52. Wrought upon by Metellus, 
J., 61. Induces Jugurthato think of 
surrendering:, J., 62. Plots against 
Jugurtha's life, J., 70. Discovered, 
and put to death, J., 71, 72 

Britain invaded bv Caesar, Fl., iii. 10 ; 
V., ii. -17 

Britomarus, PL, ii. 4 

Bructerians subdued, V., ii. 105 

Brundusium. V., i. 14; ii. 24, 7(5 

Brutus and Collatinns, PL, i. 9. Brutus 
puts his sons to death, PL, i. 9. His 
death, PL, i. 10 

Brutus, Ep. ii. 4 

Brutus, Decimus, C, 40 

Conspirator against 

Caesar, V., ii. 50. Killed, 6 1 

Brutus, Marcus Junius, kills Caesar, PL, 
iv. 2 ; V., ii. 56. His war with Octavius 
and Antony, PL, iv. 7 ; V., ii. 70. His 
death, ib. Compared with Cassius, 
Y., ii. 72. 

Byzantium, V., ii. 15 

Caeciliau family, remarkable, V.. ii. 11 

Ca^cilius, writer of comedv, V., i. 17 

Ca>lius, his sedition, V., ii'. 

Caeninenses, PL, i. 1 

Caepio, Quintus, J., 114 

Caepio, Servilius, PL, iii. 17; V., ii. 10, 
12 

Caesar, Augustus. See Augustus 

Caesar, Cains Strabo, orator, V., ii. 9 

Caesar, Julius, greatly in debt, C, 49. 
Odium excited against him by Catulus 
and Piso, ib. His speech to the senate 
concerning the conspirators, C, 51. 
His character, contrasted with that 
of Cato, C, 51. His wars in Gaul, PL, 
iii. 10 ; V., ii. 43—43. Invades Britain, 
ib. Civil war with Pompey, PL, iv. 2. 
His war in Egypt, ib. With Phar- 
uaces,i6. His triumphs, ib. His dic- 
tatorship and death, ib. See V., ii. 41, 
49, 52, 55, 58, 59 

Caesar, Lucius, C, 17 

Caesar, Tiberius. See Tiberius 

Caesars, Caius and Lucius, grandsons of 
Augustus, PL, iv. 12 ; V., ii. 96. Their 
deaths, ib. ; V., 101, 102 

Calpurnia kills herself, V., ii. 26 

Caipurnia, wife of Caesar, V., ii. 57 

Calpurnius Plamma, PL, ii. 2 

Camillus, PL, i. 13, 22 

Campania described, PL, i. 16. Cam- 
panians made citizens, V., i. 14. See 
V., ii. 81 



Cannae, battle of, PL, ii. 6 
; Cantabrians subdued by Augustus, PL, 

iv. 12 
i Caprea, lake of, FL, i. 1 

Oapsa, besieged bv Blarius, J., S9. Taken, 
J., 91 ; PL, iii. 1 

Caralis in Sardinia, FL, ii. 6 

Carbo, Ep. ii. 4 
• Carbo, consul, V., ii. 12, 2fc 

Carrae, PL, i. 11 ; iii. 11 

Carthage destroyed, PL, ii. 15; V., ii.12. 
First colony out of Italy, V., i. 15. 
More powerful than Tyre, V., ii. 15. 
When founded, V., i. 6 

Carthaginians, how treated by the 
Romans, C., 51. Carthaginians and 
Cyrenians, J., 79 

Cassias, Lucius C Longinus, O., 17. 
Sets out for Gaul, C, 41 
! Cassius, Lucius, praetor, despatched to 

bring Jugurtha to Rome, J., 32 
| Cassius kills Caesar, PL, iv. 2 ; V., ii. 56. 
His war with Octavius and Antony, 
and death, FL, iv. 7 ; Y., ii. 70. His 
war in Parthia, V., ii. 4(5 
I Castor and Pollux, FL, i. 11 : ii. 12 

Catabathmos, J., 17, 19 
i Catiline, his birth, character, and mode 
of life, C, 5. Wishes to make himself 
tyrant of his country, ib. His asso- 
ciates. C, 14. His crimes, C, 15. Con- 
ceives the plan of the conspiracy, C, 
1(5. His first plot, and its failure, 
C, is. His speech to the con- 
spirators, C., 20. Atrocity said to 
have followed it, C, 22. Has a view 
to the consulship, C, 26. Lays plots 
for Cicero, ib. Resolvo? on war, ib. 
His exertions, C, 27. His audacity in 
entering the senate, and threats, C, 
31. Leaves Rome for the camp, C, 32. 
Sends letters to different persons, C., 
U. His letter to Catulus, C, 85. De- 
clared a public enemy, C, 36. Con- 
sequences that would have resulted 
from his success, C, 39. Prepares his 
forces, C, 56. Deserted by many of 
his followers, and endeavours to reach 
Gaul, C, 57. Resolves on giving battle 
to Antonius : his speech to his troops, 
C, 57, 53. His conduct in the battle, 
C, 60. His death, C, 61. See FL, 
iv. 1; V.,ii. 34, 36 

I Cato, C, condemned for extortion, V., 
ii. 7 

Cato, Marcus Porcius, (the Censor,) his 
style, Fr., B.i. Urges the destruction 
of Carthage, PL, ii. 15 See V., i. 7, 
13,17 

1 Cato, Marcus Porcius, his speech to the 
senate, recommending that the con- 
spirators be put to death, C, 52. His 
opinion is followed, C, 53. His cha- 
racter, as compared with that of 
Caesar, C, 54, See also Ep. i. 9. Sent 



ItfDEX. 



551 



to Cyprus, PL, iii. 9. His death, PL, 
iv. 2* See Y., ii. 35, 45, 128. His wish 
to acquit Milo, Y., ii. 47 

Catullus, the poet, Y., ii. 36 

Catulus, Quiutus, receives a letter from 
Catiline, C, 35. Could not prevail on 
Cicero to accuse Caesar, C, 49. "Why 
he hated Caesar, ib. 

Catulus, consul, Fr., B. iii. (Speech of 
Maeer Licinius) 

Catulus, his modesty, V., ii. 32. Dies 
before the civil war, V., ii. 49 

Caudine Porks, FL, i. 16 

Cavelian princes, PL, iii. 10 

Celia, beer, PL ii. 17 

Ceres, her festival, V., i. 4 

Cethegus, Caius, C, 17. Appointed to 
attack Cicero, C, 43. His ardour, ib. 
Brought before the senate by Cicero, 
and committed to custody, C., 46, 47. 
Endeavours to get himself rescued, 
C, 50. His death, C, 55. Mentioned 
in the speech of Philippus, Fr., B. i. 
See V., ii. 34. 

Chalcis, Y., i. 4. 

Charops, archon, V., i. 2, 8 

Chrysocolla, PL, iv. 12 

Cicero, Marcus Tullius, a new man, C, 
23. Obtains the consulship with An- 
tonius, C. 24. His precautions against 
Catiline, C, 26 ; Y. ? ii. 34. Brings the 
affair of the conspiracy before the 
senate, C, 29. Delivers' his powerful 
speech against Catiline, C, 31. Ap- 
pointed by the senate to protect the 
city, C, 36. Arrests the xillobrogian 
deputies, and obtains proofs of the 
conspirators' guilt, C, 46. Some of 
them are committed to custody, C, 47. 
Is said to have falsely accused Crassus 
of favouring Catiline, C, 48. Refuses 
to accuse Caesar, C, 49. Convokes the 
senate to pass sentence on the con- 
spirators in custody, C, 50. Proceeds 
to put them to death, C, 55. His 
banishment, Y., ii. 45. His death, V., 
ii. 66 

Cilicia subdued by Isauricus, Y., ii. 39 

Cilician Pirates, PL, iii. 6 

Cimbri, war with them, PL, iii. 3 : Y., 
ii. 8, 12, 120 

Ciminian Forest, FL, i. 17 

Cincinnatus, PL, i. 11 

China, his actions with Marius, PL, iii. 
21 ; V., ii. 20, 21, 24 

Cirta, J., 20. Besieged by Jugurtha, 
J., 23, 25. Surrendered to him, J., 26. 
In possession of Metellus, J., 81 

Civic franchise demanded, FL, iii. 17, 13 

Claudius Quadrigarius, historian, Y., 
ii. 9 

Cleopatra, FL, iv. 2- In love with An- 
tony, FL, iv. 3. Her death, FL, iv. 11. 
SeeY^ii. 85,87 

Clodius, his character ; he banishes Ci- 



cero, and removes Cato, Y., ii. 45. 
Killed by Milo, Y., ii. 47 

Cloelia, PL, i. 10 

Clusium, PL, i. 13 ; Y., ii. 2S 

Clypea, city, FL, ii. 2 

Codru.s, last king of Athens, Y., i. 2 

Ccelius, historian, Y., ii. 9, 36 

Cceparius, one of the conspirators, flees 
from Rome, C, 46. Arrested in his 
flight, and committed to custody, C, 
47. Put to death, C. 55 

Colchians, Y., ii. 40 

Colophon built, Y., i. 4 

Compsa, Y., i. 14 ; ii. 16, 68 

Confluentes, PL, iv. 6 

Consuls, FL, i. 9 

Corfinium, Y., ii. 16, 50 

Corinth destroved by Mummius, PL, 
ii. 16 ; Y., i. 13. When built, Y., 1, 3. 
Seized by Agrippa, Y., ii. 84 

Corinthian brass, PL, ii. 16 

Coriolanus, FL, i. 11, 22 

Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, Y., ii. 7 

Cornelia, wife of Pompey, Y., ii. 53 

Cornelius, Caius, C, 17, 28 

Cornelius, scriba, Fr., B. i- 

Corsa, a woman who gave name to Cor- 
sica, Fr., B. ii. 

Coruncanius, Y., ii. 128 

Corvinus, orator, Y., ii. 36 

Cossus, Fl.,i. 11; Y., ii. 116 

Cotta, Caius, Fr., B. iii. His speech to 
the people (End of the Fragments) 

Cotta, Lucius, C, 18 

Cotta, Marcus, routed by Mithridates, 
Fr., B. iv. (Letter of Mithridates) 

Cotys, FL, iv. 2 ; Y., ii. 129 

Crassus, Marcus Licinius, believed to 
be privy to the conspiracy, C, 17. His 
hatred to Pompey, C, 17, 19. Accused 
of promoting the conspiraev, C, 48. 
His fate in Parthia, FL, iii. 11. One of 
the triumvirate, PL, iv. 2. See Y., 
ii. 30, 44, 46 

Crassus, orator, Y., ii. 9 

Crassus, praetor, killed in Pergamus 
PL, ii. 20 

Crastinus, FL, iv. 2 

Cratinus, comic writer, \~., i. 16 

Creon, first annual archon, Y., i. 7 

Cretans, Fr., B. iv. (Letter of Mithri- 
dates). Subdued by Metellus, FL, 
iii. 7 ; Y., ii. 34, 38, 81 

Cures, town of, PL, i. 2 

Curiatii, PL, i. 3 

Curicta, PL, iv. 2, note 

Curio, FL, iv. 2 ; Y.. ii. 18, 55 

Curio, Caius, Fr., B. iii. (Speech of 
Licinius) 

Curius, Quintus, C, 17. His character, 
C, 23, 26. Gives private information 
to Cicero, C, 23 

Cydonia, PL, iii. 7 

Cynoscephalae, PL, ii. 7 

Cyprus subdued, FL, iii. 9 ; Y., ii. 38, 45 



552 



INDEX. 



Cyrene, a colony from Thera, J., 19. 

Cyrenians, J., 79 
Cyrus, C, 2, and note 
Cvzicus, siege of. Fr., B. v. (Letter of 

Mithridates) ; FL, iii. 5 ; V., ii. 15, 33 

Dabar, an adherent of Bocchus, J., 108, 

112 
Dacians subdued by Augustus, FL, iv. 12 
Dalmatians subdued by Augustus, FL, 

iv. 12. See Y., ii. 90, 110, 115 
Damasippus, C, 51; Fr., B. i. (Speech 

of Philippus) ; V., ii. 26 
Danube, A'., ii. 110 
Decemviri, FL, i. 24 
Dcclamation,spurious,of Sallust against 

Cicero, p. 276 

Cicero against Sallust, p. 230 

Deiotarus, FL, iv. 2 

Dellius, his change of parties, V., ii. SI 

Delos, i. 4 

Deserters, J., 53 

Diaua honoured by Sylla, Y., ii. 25 

Didius. V., ii. 16 

Dido founds Carthage, V., i. 6 

Diphilus, writer of comedy, V., i. 10 

Dolabella, accused by Caesar, V., ii. 13. 

His furious acts, V-, ii. 60- His death, 

V., ii. 69 
Domitian family, good fortune of, V., 

ii. 10 
Domitius defeats the Arverni, V., ii. 10 
Domitius, Cn., his fleet, V., ii. 72. Joins 

Antony, Y., ii. 76. Goes over to Caesar, 

Y.. ii. 84 
Domitius, Criaeus, Ep. ii. 4 
Domitius, Lucius, Ep. i. 4, 9 
Domitius, a centurion, intimidates the 

Mysians, Fl., iv. 12 
Domnes, FL, iv. 12 
Drusus. Claudius, step-son of Augustus, 

Iris acts in Germany, FL, iv. 12 ; V., ii. 

95. His death, FL, iv. 12 ; Y., ii. 97 
Drusus, Marcus Livius, Ep. i. 6. Sedi- 
tion of, FL, iii. 17 ; V., ii. 13, 14 
Duilius defeats the Carthaginians, FL, 

ii. 2 
Dynasties, Y-, ii. 51 
Dyrrachiiun, FL, iv. 2 ; Y., ii. 24, 50, 51 

Egeria, goddess, FL, i. 2 , 

Eggius, V., ii. 119 

Egnatius, Italian general, Y., ii. 16 

Egypt, Caesars war in, FL, iv. 2 

Elissa, or Dido, founds Carthage, Y., 

i.6 
Ephesus founded, Y., i. 4 
Ephyra in Thesprotia, Y, i. 1 
Ephyre or Corinth, Y., i. 3 
Epirus, Y., L 3 
Eporsedia, Y., i. 15 
Erythra, Y., i. 4 
Ethiopians, J., 19 
Etrurians, C, 51. Their wars with the 

Romans, FL, i. 17 



Eumenes, Fr., B. iv. (Letter of Mithri- 

dates) ; Y., i.9 
Eunus heads an insurrection in Sicilv, 

FL, iii. 19 
Euphrates, V., ii. 46, 101 
Eupolis, comic writer, Y., i. 16 
Euripides, Y., i. 16 
Evander,FL, i. 1 

Fabii, FL, i. 12 

Fabius JDraUianus, Y., ii. 5 
'■ Fabius Ainbustus, Fl.,i. 26 
1 Fabius Cunetator, FL, ii. 6 
, Fabius Maximus defeats the Sabines, 
FL, i. 17 

Fabius Sanga, Quintus, C, 41 

Fabius defeated by the Gauls, FL, i. 13 

Fabrieius. FL, i. 17 
1 Faesulae, C, 24, 27 
; Falisci, FL, i. 12 
j Fannius, orator, Y , i. 17 ; ii. 9 

Fathers, the senate so called, C, 6 ; FL, 

I {1 

I Favonius, Marcus, Ep. i. 9 

Favonius. V., ii. 53 

i Fidense, FL, i. 1, 12 

| Figulus, Caius, C., 17 

! Fimbria, Y., ii. 24 

i Flacci, two, consuls together, Y., ii. 8 

, Flamen of Jove, Y., ii. 20 

, Flaminius Flamma, Caius, C, 36 

i Floralisa, Y., i. 14 

Fortune, has power in everything, C-, 8 • 

Ep. ii. 1 

Fregella, colony, Y., i. 15. Destroyed 

by Opimius, V., ii. 6 

Fufidius, Fr., B. i. 

Fulvia, a licentious and extravagant 

woman, C, 23, 26. Sends intelligence 

to Cicero, C., 28; Fl.,iv.l 

Fulvia, wife of Antonv, FL, iv. 5 ; Y., 

ii. 74 

Fulvius Flaccus, Marcus, his death, J., 

31; V., ii. 6, 7 

Fulvius, Marcus F. Nobilior, C, 17 

Gabii, FL, i. 7 

Gabinius, Marcus G. Capito, C, 17, 40. 
Appointed to fire the city, C, 43. Ac- 
cused before the senate, and com- 
mitted to custody, C, 46, 47. Put to 
death, C.,55 

Gades built, Y., i. 3 

Galba, orator, V., i. 17 ; ii. 9 

Galli Insubres, their war with the Ro- 
mans, FL, ii. 4 

Galli Senones, their conflicts with the 
Romans, FL, i. 13 

Gallogrsecian war, FL, i. 11 ; Y., ii. 39 

Gauda, grandson of Masinissa, J., 65. 
His weakness and folly, ib. 

Gaul, exhausted state of, Fr., B. iii. 
(Letter of Pompey) 

Gauls, their valour, J., 114. Caesar's 
wars with them, FL, iii. 10 ; V., ii. 39 



ISDEX. 



553 



Gcntius, king of Illyria, V., i. 9 

Germans joined with the Gauls against 
Caesar, FL, iii. 10. Reduced by Dru- 
sus, FL, iv. 12. Kill Varus, ib. See \ 
V., ii. 9S, 100, 106, 117 

Getulians and Libyans, original inha- I 
bitants of Africa, J., 18. Getulians 
armed by Jugurtha, J., 80. Subdued 
by Cossus under Augustus, Fl., iv. 12 i 

Glaucus, V., ii. S3 

Gracchus, Caius, killed, J., 31, 42. Re- i 
marks on his character and proceed- 
ings, ib. Account of him, FL, iii. 15 ; 
V., ii. 6 

Gracchus, Tiberius, killed, J., 31, 42. 
Remarks on his character and pro- 
ceedings, ib. Account of him, FL, 
iii. 14 ; Y., ii. 2, 3 

Gradivus, Mars, V., ii. 131 

Granicus, Y., i. 11 

Greece, scourging adopted from, C, 51 

Greek learning, J., 85 

Greeks emigrate to Asia, Y., i. 4 

Gulussa, J., 5 

Hamilcar of Leptis, J., 77 

Hannibal, J., 5. His conduct of the 
second Punic war, FL, ii. 6; V., ii. 27 

Hasdrubal, brother of Hannibal, FL, 
ii. 6 

Hasdrubal surrenders at the siege of 
Carthage, FL, ii. 15 

Helvetii, PI., iii. 10 

Heraclidae, V., i. 2 

Herculaneum, V., ii. 16 

Hercules, J., 18; V., i. 2,7 

Hereynian Forest, FL, iii. 10 ; V., ii. 
108.109 

Herennius, a Spanish leader, slain, Fr., 
B. iii. (Letter of Pompey) 

Hesiod, his character, V., i. 7 

Hiempsal, son of Micipsa, J., 5.' His 
dislike to Jugurtha, J., 11. Mur- 
dered by him, J., 12 ; FL, iii. 1 

Hiempsal, king of Xumidia, son of Gu- 
lussa, J., 17. His Punic volumes, ib. 

Hiero, FL, ii. 2 

Hippo, J., 19 

Hirtius, consul, his advice to Julius Cae- 
sar, Y., ii. 57 

Historian, duty of, C, 3 

Homer, his character, Y., i. 5 

Horatii and Curiatii, FL, i. 3 

Horatius Codes, FL, i. 10 ; Y., ii. 6 

Hortensius, orator, V., ii. 36. His death, 
V., ii. 49. His son killed at Philippi, 
V., ii. 70 

Janus, temple of, FL, ii. 3 ; iv. 12 ; V., ii. 

3S 
Jerusalem, entered by Pompey, FL, 

iii. 5 
Illyrians, Roman wars with them, FL, 

ii. 5, 13. Subdued by Augustus, FL, 

iv. 12 ; V., ii. 39 



Indians send ambassadors to Augustus, 
FL, iv. 12 

Indutiomarus, FL, iii. 10 

Ion, V., i. 4 

Iphitus, institutes the Olympian games, 
Y., i. 7 

Isocrates, orator, Y., i. 1G 

Istrian war, FL, ii. 10 

Italic war, Y., ii. 15 

Juba overthrown by Ca?sar, FL, iv. 2. 
His death, ib. ; V., ii. 53, 54 

Judges, or Jurymen, Ep. i. 7 

Jugurtha, son of Mastanabal, and ne- 
phew of Masinissa, J., 5- His cha- 
racter and habits, J., 6. His popu- 
larity dreaded by Micipsa, ib. Sent 
with auxiliary troops to the Romans 
at the siege of* Xumantia, J., 7. Flat- 
tered there by certain Romans, and 
receives friendly advice from Scipio, 
J., 8. Adopted by Micipsa, J., 9. Ad- 
dressed by Micipsa on his death-bed, 
J... 10. His conference with Adher- 
bal and Hiempsal after Micipsa's 
death, J., 11. Plots against Hiemp- 
sal, J., 12. Murders him, ib. Aspires 
to the sovereignty of all Xumidia, and 
defeats Adherbal, J., 13. Sees no 
hope of ultimate success but in Ro- 
man avarice, ib. Success of his bri- 
bery, J., 13, 15. Ten commissioners 
sent to divide the kingdom between 
him and Adherbal, J., 16. Works on 
Scaurus, and obtains the more valu- 
able portion of Numidia, ib. Invades 
the territories of Adherbal, J., 20. 
Receives another embassy from the 
senate, J., 22. Disregards it, and be- 
sieges Cirta, J., 22, 23. Takes it, and 
puts Adherbal to death, J., 26. Sends 
more deputies to Rome with bribes, 
who are not admitted into the city, 
J., 2S. Bribes the consul Oalpurnius 
to grant him peace, J., 29. Is brought 
by Cassius to Rome to give evidence. 
J., 32. Bribes Baebius, one of the 
tribunes, J., 33. Procures the death 
of Massiva, J., 35. Quits Italy, i It. 
Manoeuvres against the consul Albi- 
nus, J., 36. Surprises Aulus, and sends 
the Romans under the yoke, J., 38. 
Finds that he has to contend with a 
man of ability in Metellus, J., 46, 4S. 
Resolves to come to a battle with 
him, J., 48. Description of the ar- 
rangements and contest, J., 49—52. 
Is at last repulsed, J., 53. Not dis- 
pirited, J., 54. His activity, J., 55. 
Attacks the Roman camp near Zama. 
J., 58. Resolves on surrendering to 
Metellus, J., 62. Changes his mind, 
ib. His renewed activity, J., 66. His 
disquietude from the treachery of 
his adherents, J., 72, 76. Routed bv 
Metellus, J., 74. Flees to Thala, J., 



554i 



INDEX. 



75. Quits it, J., 76. Flees to Getu- 
lia, J., 80. Unites with Bocchus, J., 
80,81. Surprised by Marius, J., 88. 
He and Bocchus unsuccessfully at- 
tack Marius, d ., 97—99, 101. Desirous 
of peace, J , 111. Agrees to a con* 
ference, J., 112. Seized by the trea- 
chery of Bocchus, J., 113. See FL, hi. 
1 ; V., ii. 9, II, 12 

Julia Augusta, daughter of Livius Dru- 
sus, V., ii. 71 

Julia, daughter of Augustus, wife of 
Marcel lus, then of Agrippa, then of 
Tib. Nero, V., ii. 94, 96. Her miscon- 
duct and banishment, Y., ii. 100 

Julia, Pompey's wife, her death, Fl., iv. 
2 ; V., ii. 47 

Julius, Caius, C, 27 

Julius Proculus, FL, i. 1 

Junia, sister of Brutus, V., ii. 83 

Junius Blaesus, V., ii. 125 

Junius Silanus, Decimus, gives his 
opinion for putting the conspirators 
to death, C, 50. Cgesar's observations 
on it, C, 51 

Jupiter Stator, FL, i. 1 

King, the first title of sovereignty, C, 2 

Labienus, FL, iv. 2 ; V., ii. io. Falls at 
Munda, Y., ii. oo 

Labienus, his son, Y., ii. 78 

Lacedaemonians, C, 2 ; V., i. 4, 17- 
Conquer tho Athenians, and set the 
thirty tyrants over them, C, 51 

Laoca, Marcus fortius, C.,27 

Lcelius, orator, Y., i. 17 ; ii. 9 

Lancia, FL, iv. 12 

Langobardians, V., ii. 108 

Laodicea taken, Y., ii. 69 

Lares, town of, J-, 90 

Latins, their wars with the Romans, 
FL, i. 11, 14 

Laurel growing up in a ship, FL, ii. 7 

Laurentian marshes, T., ii. 19 

Laws, Agrarian, ii. 2, 6. Roscian, V., ii. 
32. Manilian, Y., ii. 33 

Lentulus, Publius L. Sura, C, 17. His 
operations at Rome, C, 39, 40. Gives 
Yulturcius a letter for Catiline. C, 44. 
Brought before the Senate by Cicero, 
C, 46. Committed to custody, C, 47. 
His freedmen seek to rescue him, C, 
50. Put to death, C, 55 ; FL, iv. 1 ; 
Y., ii. 34 

Lepidus, Marcus, C, 18 

Lepidus, Marcus iEmilius, consul, his 
speech against Sylla, Fr., B. i. Speech 
of Philippus against him, ib. His in- 
surrection, Fl.,iii. 23 

Lepidus the Triumvir, FL, iv. 6. Pro- 
scribes his brother, ib. ; V., ii. 67. 
Left to eaiard the city, FL, iv. 7. See 
V., ii. 63, 64, m, 67, 80, 88 



Lepidus,his son, plots against Augustus. 

V„ ii. SS 
Leptis Major, J., 77- Faithful to the 

Romans, ib. Its origin, J., 7S 
Leptis Minor, J., 19 
Lesbos, V., i. 2 

Libyans, and Getulians, original inha- 
bitants of Africa, J., 18. Subdued 

under Augustus, FL, iv. 12 
Licinius, Macer, tribune, his speech to 

the people on the tribunitial power, 

Fr., B. hi. 
Ligurians, their war with the Romans, 

FL, ii. 3 
Livia, daughter of Drusus, her flight, 

V., ii. 75. Married to Augustus, V., 

ii. 79 
Livy, V., i. 17 ; ii. 36 
Lollius defeated in Germany, V., ii. 97. 

His death, V., ii- 102 
Lucilia, mother of Pompey, Y.,ii. 29 
Lueilius, poet, Y., ii. 9 
Lucretius, poet, Y., ii. 36 
Lucullus defeats Mithridates and Ti- 

granes, Y., ii. 33. Opposes Pompey, 

V., ii. 40. His avarice and luxury, 

Y., ii. 33. His triumph, V., ii. 34 
Lucullus, his son, falls at Philippi, V., 

ii. 71 
Lucullus, Publius, a tribune, J., 37 
Lupercal, Y., i. 15 ; ii- 56 
Lupia, river, V., ii- 105 
Lutatius, Q, Catulus, aids Marius in 

defeating the Cimbri, Y., ii. 12. His 

death, Y., ii. 22 
Lycia conquered by Brutus, Y., ii. 69, 102 
Lycurgus, Y., i. 6 
Lydia and Lydus, Y., i. 1 
Lysippus, Y., i. 1 

Macedonia gains universal empire, Y., 
i. 6. Made a Roman province, Y., ii. 38. 
Overrun by barbarians, Y., ii. 110 

Macedonian war, 0., 51 ; FL, ii. 7. Se- 
cond, FL, ii. 12. Third, ii. 14 

Macedonicus, Y., ii. 74 

Mad Mountains of Sardinia, FL, ii. 6 

Maecenas, Y., ii. 88 

MEelius, FL, i. 26 

Magius, Celer Yelleianus, the author's 
brother, Y., ii. 115 

Magius, Minatius, the author's ances- 
tor, Y., ii. 16 

Magius, Decius, ditto, Y., ii. 16 

Mamilius of Tusculum, FL, i. 11 

Mamilius Limetanus, a tribune, pro- 
poses a law for investigating Jugur- 
tha's affairs, J., 40. It is passed, ib. 

Maucinus besieges Carthage, FL, ii. 15. 
Surrendered to the Numantines, FL, 
ii. 17 ; V., ii. 1 

Manilius Mancinus, J., 73 

Manlius Caius, an adherent of Catiline, 
C, 24, 27. 28, 30. Sends messengers to 
QuintusMarcius Rex, C, 32,33. Com- 



INDEX. 



555 



roands the right wing in Catiline's 
army, C, 59. Is killed, C, 60 

Manlius Capitolinns defends the Capi- 
tol, FL, i. 13. His death, i. 26 

Manlius Torquatns, FL, i. 13 

Manlius, Auhis, lieutenant-general to 
Marius, J., 86, 90, 100, 102 

Manlius, Marcus, J., 114 

Manlius Torquatus, Titus, put his own 
son to death, C, 52 

Marcellus opposes Hannibal, PL , ii. 6. 
Makes Sicily a province, V., ii. 3S 

Marcellus, nephew of Augustus, Y., 
ii. 93 

Marcius Philippus, PL, ii. 12 

Marcius Rex, Quintus, C, 30. His an- 
swer to the deputies from Manlius, 
C.,34 

Marcomanni, V., ii. 108 

Marica, lake, V., ii. 19 

Marius, Cains, lieutenant-general of 
Metellus, J., 46. Joins Metellus at 
Zama, J., 57. Supports him, J., 58, 60. 
Elated by omens in sacrificing, J., 63. 
A native of Arpinum, ib. His youth 
and character, ib . Resolves on stand- 
ing for the consulship, J., 64. Re- 
sents the haughtiness of Metellus, ib. 
His boasts, ib. Works upon Gauda, 
J., 65. Goes to Rome, and is chosen 
consul, J., 73. Is appointed to con- 
duct the war in Xumidia, J., 73, 82- 
His hostility to the nobles, J., 84. His 
speech to the people, J., 85^ Enlists 
the lowest of the people, J., 86. As- 
sumes the command in Numidia, ib. 
His proceedings, J., 87. Surprises Ju- 

gurtha, J., 88. Determines to besiege 
apsa, J., 89. Takes it, J., 91. Takes 
a strong fort on the river Mulucha, 
J., 92—94. Attacked by Jugurtha and 
Bocchus, but routs them, J., 97 — 99. 
His caution, J., 100. Routs the two 
kings again, J., 101. Receives Jugur- 
tha prisoner from Sylla, J., 113. 
Elected consul again, and triumphs, 
J., 114. See PL, iii. 1. Defeats the 
Cimbri and Teutones, PL, iii. 3. Civil 
war with Sylla, PL, iii. 21. See Y., ii. 
11, 13, 15, 19, 20, 23 

Marius the younger, PL, iii. 21 ; V., ii. 
26, 27 

Marius, Caius, his eagle, C ., 59 

Maroboduus, V., ii. 108, 109 

Mars, temple of, V.,ii. 100 

Marseilles, PL, iv. 2 ; V., ii. 15, 50 

Masinissa, king of Xumidia, his services 
to the Romans. J., 5. His friendship 
for them, ib. ; PL, iii. 1 

Massiva, grandson of Masinissa, J., 35. 
Murdered by Jugurtha's agents, ih. ; 
PL, iii. 1 

Mastanabal, father of Jugurtha, J., 5 

Mauretania, J., 19 

Maximus, Quintus, J., 4 



Mecles, J., 18. Name said to be cor- 
rupted into Moors, i&. Universal em- 
pire of, V., i. 6 

Medon, Archon, Y., i. 2 

Memrnius, Caius, a tribune of the 
people, hostile to Jugurtha, J., 27. 
His speech to the people, J., 31. His 
address to the people, and to Jugur- 
tha, J., 33 

Menander, V., i. 16 

Menenius Agrippa, PL, i. 23 

Merula, flamen of Jupiter, V., 20, 22 

Messala Corvinus saved bv Octavius, 
V., ii. 70 

Messana, PL, ii. 2 

Metapontum, Y., i. 1 

Metellus Celer, Quintus, C, 30, 42. Cuts 
off Catiline's retreat into Gaul, C, 57 

Metellus, Balearicus, PL, iii. 8 

Metellus Creticus, Quintus, C.,30. Sub- 
dues Crete, PL, iii. 7. His triumph, 
PL, iv. 2 

Metellus Xumidicus, Quintus, elected 
cousul, J., 43. Has Xumidia for his 
province, ib. Receives the command 
of the army from Albinus, J., 44. His 
judicious reformation of ifc, J., 44, 45. 
His activity, J., 46. Retorts upon 
Jugurtha his own artifices, J., 48, 43. 
Repulses Jugurtha, after a hard con- 
test, J., 50—53. His further opera- 
tions, J., 54. His success causes great 
joy at Rome, J., 55. Besieges Zama, 
J., 56—60. Raises the siege, J., 61. 
Works upon Bomilcar, J-, 61. Re- 
ceives offers of surrender from Ju- 
gurtha, J., 62. Offended at Marius's 
ambition for the consulship, J., 64. 
Takes Thala, J., 75, 76. His feelings 
on hearing that Marius was to suc- 
ceed him, J., 82, 83. Tampers with 
Bocchus, J., 83. His return to Rome, 
and reception there, J., 88. See PL, 
iii. 1 ; Y., ii. 11, 15. Was an orator, 
Y., ii. 9 

Metellus Pius, son of Xumidicus, his 
reception and conduct in Spain, Pr., 

B. ii. Engaged in the Italic war, Y., 
ii. 15. Defeats Svlia's enemies at 
Faventia, V., ii. 28 

Metius Pufetius, PL, i. 3 

Micipsa, son of Masinissa, J., 5. His 
fear of Jugurtha, J ., 6, 7. Endeavours 
to win him by kindness, and adopts 
him, J., 9. His dying address to Ju- 
gurtha, J., 10 ; FL, iii. 1 

Miletus colonised, Y., i. 4 

Milo kills Clodius, V., ii. 47. Is killed 
at Compsa, Y., ii. 68 

Milvian Bridge, Allobroges arrested on, 

C, 45 

Mind, observations on, J., 1, 2 
MinturnaB, Y., i. 14 ; ii. 19 
Mithridates, his letter to Arsaces, Pr., 
B. iv. War between him and the 



556 



INDEX. 



Romans, FL, iii. 5. His death, ib. 
See V., ii. 18, 37, 40 

Mitylene, V., i. 4. Its treachery, V., ii. 
18, 53 

Morini, Fl., iii. 10 

Mucius, Scaevola, Fl., i. 10 

Mucius, a lawyer, V., ii. 9 

Mulucha, city, FL, iii. 1 

Mulucha, river, J. ,19. Divided the king- 
doms of Jugurtha andBocchus, J., 92 

Mummius destroys Corinth, Fl., ii. 16 ; 
V., i. 12, 13. A new man, V., ii. 128 

Munda, battle of, FL, iv. 2 

Muraena, Caius, C.. 42 

Muraena, L., conspires against -Au- 
gustus, V., ii. 91 

Mural crown, V., i. 12 

Muthul, river, J., 48 

Mutina, battle of, FL, iv. 4 

Mutina, V., ii. 61 

Mysians subdued by Augustus, FL, iv. 12 

Nabdalsa, leagues against Jugurtha, J ., 

70. Discovered, J., 71 
Narbo Marcius, V., i. 15; ii. 8 
Neapolis, V., i. 4. Its games in honour 

of Augustus, V., ii. 123 
Nero, Tib. CL, father of Tiberius Caesar, 

raises commotions, V., ii. 75 
Nero, Tiberius. See Tiberius 
Nestor, V., i. 1 
Nicoraedes, king of Bithynia, Fr., B. iv. 

(Letter of Mithridates) ; FL, iii. 5 ; 

Y., ii. 4, 39 
Ninus, V.,i. 6 
Nobilitv, tyranny of, J., 41 
Nola, V., i. 7 

Xucerinus, Publius Sittius, C, 21 
Numa Pompilius, reign of, FL, i. 2, 8 
Numantinc War, J., 7. Destruction of 

Numantia, FL, ii. 18 
Numidians, whence their name, J., 18. 

Their origin and progress, ib. Numi- 

dia made a province, Y., ii. 39 
Nurnitor, FL, i. 1 

Oblivion, river of, FL, ii. 17 

Obsidional crown, Y., i. 12 

Ocriculum, FL, i. 7 

Octavia, sister of Augustus, wife of 
Antony, Y., ii. 78 

Octavius, father of Augustus, Y., ii. 59 

Octavius. See Augustus Caesar 

Olympic games instituted, Y., i. 7 

Opimian wine, Y., ii. 7 

Opimius, Lucius, chief of ten commis- 
sioners for dividing the kingdom of 
Numidia, J., 16. Kills C. Gracchus 
and Fulvius Flaccus, Y-, ii. 6 

Ops, her temple, V., ii. 60 

Orestes, Y-, i. 1. His sons, Y., i. 2 

Orestilla, Aurelia, C-, 15, 35 

Orodes,king of Parthia, cuts off Crassus, 
V.,ii. 46,91 

Osci corrupt Cuma, Y., i. 4 



Ostia,FL,i.4; Y., ii. 94 

Otho, Roscius, his law, Y-, ii. 32 

Ovid, Y., ii. 36 

Pacorus, the Parthian prince, defeated, 

FL, iv.9; Y.,ii. 78 
Pacuvius, writer of tragedies, Y., ii. 9 
Palinurus, prom., Y., ii. 79 
Pannonians, subdued bv Augustus, FL, 

iv. 12 ; Y.,ii. 39, 114. Rebel, V., ii. 110 
Pansa, his advice to Caesar, Y., ii. 57. 

His death, V., ii. 61 
Parilia, birthday of Rome, V., i. 7 
Parthia, war of the Romans with, FL, 

iii. 11 
Parthians conquer Crassus, FL, iii. 11. 

Defeated by Yentidius, FL, iv. 9. 

Conquer Antony, iv. 11. Return the 

Roman standards, FL, iv. 12; V., ii. 

91. See Y., ii. 46, 100, 101 
Parties, political, how formed, J., 41 
Patricians, Y., i. 8 
Paulus iEmilius subdues Perses, FL, ii. 

12 ; V., i. 9. His sons, V., i. 10 
Paulus iEmilius slain at Cannae, Y., i. 9 
Pedius, consul, his law against Caesar's 

assassins, V., ii. 69 
Pelasgi remove to Athens, Y., i. 3 
Peloponnesians build Megara, V., i. 2 
Pelops, his family expelled by the 

Heraclidae, V., i 2 
Penthilus, son of Orestes, V., i. 1 
Perperna conquers Aristonicus, Y., ii.4 
Perperna murders Sertorius, Y., ii. 30. 

Conquered by Pompey, FL, iii. 22 
Perses, king of Macedonia, C, 51, 81 ; 

Fr., B. iv. (Letter of Mithridates) 

Fl.,ii.l2; V., i. 9, 11 
Persians, J., 18. Their universal empire, 

Y., i. 6 
Perusia, siege of, FL, iv. 5 ; Y., ii. 74 
Petreius, Marcus, commands for Anto- 

nius in the battle with Catiline, C, 59 
Petreius and Afranius in Spain, FL, iv. 

2. Petreius's death, ib. See Y., ii. 

48, 50 
Pharnaces, conquered by Caesar, FL, iv. 

2 ; Y., ii. 40 
Pharsalia, battle of, FL, iv. 2 ; Y., ii. 52 
Philaeni, Altars of, J., 19. Legend of 

thePhilaeni, J., 79 
Philemon, writer of comedy, Y., L 16 
Philip, king of Macedonia, (Letter of 

Mithridates,) Fr., B. iv. ; FL, ii. 7; 

Y.,i. 6 
Philip, step-father of Augustus, V., ii. 

59, 60 
Philippi, battle of, FL, iv. 7; Y., ii. 70 
Philippus, Lucius, his speech against 

Lepidus, Fr., B. i. 
Phoenicians, some settled in Africa, J., 

19 
Picenum, C, 57. War with the people 

of, FL,i. 19; Y.,ii. 29, 105 
Pindar, Y., i. 17 



tyu J.- y^ 



f ^x 



, m. 6 
V., ii 



63. Pro- 

. 74. riees 
His desertion 



Piraeus, Y., ii. 23 

Pirates subdued by Pornpey, Fl 

V., ii. 31. Crucified by Caesar, 

42 
Piso, Caius, could not prevail on Cicero 

to accuse Caesar, C, 49. "Why he 

hated Caesar, ib. 
Piso, Cnaeus, C., IS. Sent into Spain, 

C., 19. His death, ib. 
Pistoria, C, 57 
Placentia, Y. f i. 14 
Plancus joins Antony, V., ii 

scribes his brother, V 

with Fulvia, Y., ii. 76 

to Augustus, and servility, Y., ii. 83 
Plato, V., i. 16 
Plautian Law, C, 31 
Plautus, Lucius, accuses Catiline, C.,S1 
Pollio. See Asinius 
Pompeius Rufus, Quintus, C, 30 
Pornpey, first consul of the family, V., 

ii. 1 
Porapey, consul, slain by the troops of 

Cn. Pompey, V., ii. 20 
Pompey, father of Pornpey the Great, 

V., ii". 15. His conduct and death, \ ., 

ii. 21 
Pompey, Cnaeus, C, 16, 17- His letter to 

the senate, Fr , B. iii. Mentioned in 



INDEX. 557 

Proscription, invented bv Svlla, Y., ii. 

28 ; Fl., iii., 21. That of the trium- 
virate, FL, ii. 6 ; V., ii. 66 
Pseudo-Philippus, FL, ii. 14 ; Y., i. 11 
Ptolemv, Y., i. 10 
Ptolemy, Fr., B. iv. (Letter of Mithri- 

dates) 
Ptolemy causes Pompev's death, FL, iv. 

2 ; Y., ii. 53 
Ptolemy, king of Cyprus, FL, iii. 9 ■ Y., 

ii. 45 
Punic wars, first, FL, ii. 1. Second, ii. 

6. Third, ii. 15 
Punic books of king Hiempsal, J., 17 
Pyrrhus, his war with the Romans, FL, 

i. 18. See Y., i. 1, 15 



Quinctius, Lucius, Fr., B. iii. (Speech 

of Licinius) 
Quintilius Yarns, killed by his freed- 

man,Y., ii. 71 
Quintilius Yarus, son of the former, 

killed with his army in Germany, Y., 

ii. 117—120 
Quirinus, name of Romulus, FL, i. 1 

Rabirius, poet, Y., ii. 36 

Raudian plains, Y., ii. 12 ; FL, iii. 3 

Regulus. FL, ii. 2 •, Y., ii. 38 



the speech of Licinius, Fr., B-iii. Hi3 ' Remus, FL, i. 1. His death, ib. 



followers, Ep- ii. 2- Takes the com 
mand of the Mithridatic war, FL, iii. 
5. His further proceedings in the 
East, and at Jerusalem, ib. Subdues 
the pirates, FL, iii. 6. Civil war with 
Caesar, FL, iv. 2. His theatres, ib. 
His death, ib. ; Y , ii 52, 53. See 
V., ii. 29, 30, 32, 37, 49. Marries Julia, 
V., ii. 44 

Pompey, Cnaeus, son of Pompey the 
Great, his contests with Caesar, FL, 
iv. 2. His death, ib: 

Pompey, Sextus, son of Pompey the 
Great, his contests with Caesar, FL, 
iv. 2. His war with Octavius and 
Antony, and death, FL, iv. 8. See Y., 
ii. 72, 77, 79 

Pomtinus, Caius. See Yalerius Flaccus 

Pontius, the Samnite general, Fl., i. 16 

Pontius Telesinus, V., ii. 27 ; FL, iii. 18, 
21 

Pontus, war with, FL, iii. 5. Made a 
province. Y., ii- 38 

Popedius, FL, iii. 18 

Popilius Laenas, Y., i. 10 

Populace, their feelings, C, 37, 48 

Porciaii Law, C, 51 

Porcius, Marcus P. Laeca, C, 17 

Porsena, his war with the Romans, 
FL.i.lO 

Porticos of Metellus and Scipio. Y., ii. l 

Posthumius, Albinus, severe censor, V., 
i.10 

Posthumius, dictator, FL, i. 11 

Posthumius, Lucius, Ep. i. 9 



Rewards offered for information about 
the conspiracy of Catiline, C, 30 

Rhaetians subdued, Y., ii. 39, 95 

Rhea Sylvia, Fl. i. 1 

Rhodes, faithless to Rome in the Mace- 
donian war, C, 51 ; Y., L 9. Act with 
zeal against Mithridates, V., ii. is. 
Takenby Cassius, V., ii. 69 

Rhoemetafces, king of Thrace, V., ii. 112 

Rome, founded by the Trojans, C.,6; 
V., i. 7. Character and actions of its 
early inhabitants, C, 6 — 11. Com- 
mencement of licentiousness among 
the soldiery, C, 11- Its condition at 
the time of Catiline's conspiracy, C, 
36. Romans adopted from other na- 
tions whatever they considered eli- 
gible, C, 51 ; FL, i. 5. Causes of 
Rome's greatness, C ., 53. When most 
powerful, Fr., B. i. When most 
blameless in morals, ib. Cause of 
dissensions in Rome, Fr., B. i. Rea- 
sons why Romans made war on other 
nations, Fr., B. iv. (Letter of Mithri- 
dates.) Degeneracy of the common 
people, Ep. i. 5. How Rome likely 
to fall, Ep. ii. 5. Rome's greatness, 
FL, Pref. Its infancy, youth, man- 
hood, and old age, ib. Its just and 
unjust wars, FL, ii. 19. Its gradual 
corruption of morals, FL, hi., 12 

Romulus, his name applied to Sylla, 
Fr., B. i. 

Romulus, son of Mars and Rhea Sylvia, 
Fl.,i.l. His youth, ib. Builds Rome, 






558 



INDEX. 



ib. His reign and death, il). His 

efficiency, FL,i. 8 
Rubicon, v., ii. 49 
Rutilius, a lieut.-geii. of Metcllus, J., 

49,86 
Rutilius, historian, V., ii. 9 

Sabines, FL, i. 1, 15. Made Roman citi- 
zens, V., i. 14 

Sacriportus, V., ii. 26 

Saenius, Lucius, C, 30 

Saguntum, FL, ii. 6 

Salendicus. Fl., ii. 17 

Sallentine War, Fl., i. 20 

SaHu8t,engaged early in political affairs, 
C, 3- Determines on writing detached 
portions of the history of Rome, C, 4. 
"Where his large history commenced, 
Fr., B. i., init. Did not write the Two 
Epistles to Caesar, p. :250, seq. Rival 
of Thucydides, V., ii. 36 

Salyi, or Salyes, Fl., hi. 1 ; V., i. 15 

Samnitcs, C. 51. Their wars with the 
Romans, FL, i. 16, 17. Made Roman 
citizens, V., i. 14 

Sardanapalus killed, V., i. 6 

Sardinia, conquered, FL, ii. 6; V., ii. 38 

Sarmatians subdued by Augustus, FL, 
iv. 12 

Saturninus, Fr., E. i. (Speech of Phi- 
lippus); V., ii, 12 

Scaeva, centurion, his vnloivr, FL, iv. 2 

Scaurus, ^Emilius, his character, J., 15. 
One of an embassy to Jugurtha. J., 25. 
Accompanies the consul Bestia into 
Numidia, J., 28. Bribed by Jiururtha, 
J., 29. His influence with the senate, 
J., 30. Appointed ono of three com- 
missioners to investigate Juirurtha's 
affairs, J., 40 ; FL, iii. 1 

Scaurus, orator, V.. ii. 9 

Scipio Africanus, Publius, J., 4. Re- 
ceives Masinissa into alliance with 
Rome, J., 5. His patronage of Ju- 
gurtha at the siege of Kumantia, J., 
7, 22. His advice to him, J. 5 8. His 
letter to Micipsa, J., 9. He destroys 
Carthase, FL, ii. 15 Destrovs Nil- 
mantia, FL. ii.18. See V., i. 12, 13; 
ii. 4 

Scipio, brother of Scipio Africanus, sub- 
dues Antiochus, Fl , ii. 8 

Scipio, orator, V«, i. 17 

Scipio INasica, consul, J., 26 ; V., ii. 1 

Scipio, P., son of Africanus, V., i. 10 

Scipio Asiaticus, deserted bv his troops, 
V., ii. 25 

Scipios, Cnaeus and Publius. their acts 
in Spain, FL, ii. 6, 17 ; V., ii. 3S. Are 
slain, V, U 90 

Scipios, Two, aediles, V., ii. 8 

Scorcla, FL, ii. 13 

Scordisci, FL, iii. 4 ; V., ii. 8, 39 

Scribonia, mother of Julia, V.. ii. 100 

Scyrrus, Fr., B. i. 



1 Scythians send ambassadors to Au- 
gustus, FL, iv. 12 

Seditions at Rome, FL, i. 22—26; iii. 
13-17 
1 Sejanus, V., ii. 116, 127 
! Seleucia, V., ii. 46 
I Semiramis, V., i. 6 

1 Sempronia, her character, C, 25. Her 
connexion with Decimus Brutus, C, 40 
I Sempronius Gracchus, V., ii. 100 
1 Senate, might be augmented in num- 
ber, Ep. i. 11, 12 
; Sentius Saturninus, V., ii. 27, 92. His 

character, V., ii. 105, 109 
' Septimius, C, 27 

Seres send ambassadors to Augustus, 
FL, iv. 12 

Serpent at Bagrada, FL, ii. 2 

Sertorius, Fr., B. iii. (Letter of Pom- 
pev). The war with him, FL, iii. 22. 
See V., ii. 25, 30, 90 

Servilia, wife of Lenidus, kills herself, 
V.,ii. 88 

Servius Tullius, his reign, FL, i. 6, 8 
; Sextia3 Aquae, V., i. 15 ; FL, iii. 3 

Sicca, town of, J., 56. Revolts from 
Jugurtha, ib. 

Sicilv, FL, ii. 2 ; V., ii. 37. Conquered 
by Marcellus, FL, ii. 6 5 V., ii. 38. In- 
surrection of slaves in, FL, iii. 19 

Sidonians built Leptis Major, J., 78 

Siirimcr, German prince, V., ii. 118 

Silanus, Marcus, V., ii. 12, 77 

Silo. See Popedius 

Sisenna, the historian, J., 95; V., ii. 9 

Slaves, war of Rome with, FL, iii. 19 

Smyrna built, V., i. 4 

Socrates, V., i. 16 

Sophocles, ib. 

Sosius, Antony's admiral, V,, ii. 85 

Spain, war in, FL, ii. 6, 17 ; iv. 2 ; V., ii. 
38. Finally reduced under Augustus, 
FL, iv. 12; V., ii. 90 

Spartacus, his insurrection, FL, iii. 20 ; 
V., ii. 30 

Spolia Opima., FL, i. 1; ii. 4 

Spurius Cassius, FL, i. 26 

Statilius, .Lucius, C, 17. Appointed to 
fire the city, C, 43. Charged before 
the senate, and committed to custodv, 
C, 46, 47. Put to death, C, 55 

Statius Murcus, V., ii. 69, 72, 77 

Suessa Pometia, FL, i. 7 
I Sulpicius, orator, V., ii. 9 
! Suthul, town of, besieged by Aulus, J., 37 
; Sylla, Lucius, C, 6. Began well, but 
ended far otherwise, C, 11. His ve- 
terans, C, 16. His arrival in Numidia 
as quaestor to Marius, J., 95. His 
family and character, ib. His popu- 
larity with the army, J., 96. Sent by 
Marius to Bocchus, J., 102. His speech 
to Bocchus, ib. Goes again to Boc- 
chus, J., 105. His meeting with Yolux, 
J., 105—107. Persuades Bocchus to 



INDEX. 



559 



betray Jugurtha, J., 111. Takes Ju- 
gurtha prisoner, J., 111. Speech of Le- 
pidus against him. Fr., B. i. Abridged 
the power of the tribunes, Fr., B. iii. 
(Speech of Licinius). Goes against 
Mithridates, FL, iii. 5; V., ii. 23, 21. 
Civil war with Marius, FL, iii. 21 ; V., 
ii. 26, 27. His atrocities and proscrip- 
tion, ib. ; V., ii. 28. See V., ii. 17. 19, 
23, 24, 26, 28 
Sylla, Pubiius, C, 17 
Sylla, Servius, C, 17 
Svphax, subdued by the Romans, J., 5 
Syracuse, FL, ii. 6; V., ii. 15, 38 
Syria, FL, ii. 8 ; V., ii. 37, 38, 46 
Syrtes, J., 19. Described, J., 78 

Tanaquil, FL, i. 

Tarcondiinotus, FL, iv. 2 

Tarentines, their war with the Romans, 
FL, i. 18 

Tarentum, a colony, V., i. 15 

Tarpeian rock, V., ii. 24 

Tarquinius, Lucius, accuses Crassus of 
leaguing with Catiline, C, 48. His ac- 
cusation deemed false by the senate, 
ib. 

Tarquinius Priscus, his reign, FL, i. 5, 8 

Tarquinius Superbus, his reign, FL, i. 
7,8 

Tarrula, Fr., B. i. 

Tatius, FL, i. 1 

Taurus, general of Octavius, V., ii. 85 

Telamon, V., i. 1 

Telesinus, FL, iii. 18, 21 ; V., ii. 16, 27 

Tencteri, FL, iii. 10 

Terence, V., i. 17 

Teucer builds Salamis in Cyprus, V., i. 1 

Teutobochus, FL, iii. 3 

Teutones, FL, iii. 3 ; V., ii. 8, 12 

Thala, city of, J., 75. Besieged by Me- 
tellus, ib. Taken, .J., 76 ; FL, iii. 1 

Thapsus, battle of, FL, iv. 2 

Theophanes, V., ii. 18 

Therseans founded Cyrene, J., 19 

Thessaly, V., i. 3 

Thirmida, J., 12 

Thoas the iEtolian, Fl , ii. 8 

Thracians, war of the Romans with 
them, FL, in. 4. Subdued bv Augustus, 
Fl.,iv. 12; V., ii. 98 

Thurii, V., ii. GS 

Tiberius, emperor. His character, V., 
ii. 94. Marries Julia, 96. Triumphs 
over the Paunonians, 97. Retires to 
Rhodes, ib. Adopted by Augustus, 
103. Subdues Germany, 106. Pre- 
pares to attack Maroboduus, 108. Con- 
quers the Dalmatians, 117. Made equal 
in rank with Augustus, 121. Takes 
the government, 124. View of his 
administration, 126 

Tiberius Claudius Nero, V., ii. 75 

Tiberius Nero, his opinion concerning 
the conspirators, C, 50 



Tibullus, V.,ii. 3G 

Ticinus, battle of, FL, ii. 6 

Tigranes, Letter of Mithridates, Fr., 

B. iv. Defeated by Lucullus, V., ii. 33. 

Surrenders to Pompey, V., ii. 37 
Tigurini, FL, iii. 3. 
Tisidium, J., 62. 
Torquatus. Lucius, C, 18 
Trajan, FL, Pref. 
Trasimene lake, battle of, FL, ii. 6 
Trebia, battle of, FL, ii. 6 
Trebonius, a conspirator against Csesar, 

V., ii. 56. Slain, 69 
Treviri, FL, iii. 10 
Tribunitial power, seditious nature of, 

Fl.,iii.l3 
Triumvirate of Csesar, Pompey, and 

Crassus, FL, iv. 2 ; v., ii. 44 
Triumvirate of Augustus, Antony, and 

Lepidus, FL, iv. 6 ; V., ii. 65 
Trojans founded Rome, C, 6 
Tullia, FL, i. 7 
Tullian dungeon, C, 55 
Tullus Hostilius, reign of, FL, i. 3, 8 
Tullus, Lucius, C, 18 
Turpilius, the Roman governor of 

Vacca, J., 67. Put to death, J., 69 
Tyrants, Thirty, at Athens, C, 51 
Tyrrhenus, V., i. 1 

Yacca, orYaga, J., 29. Metellus places 

a garrison in it, J., 47. Revolts from 

the Romans, J., 66. Recovered by 

Metellus, J., 69 
Yalerius Antias, V.,ii. 9 
Yalerius Flaccus, Lucius, employed in 

arresting the Allobrogian deputies, 

C., 45 
j Yalerius Publicola, FL, i. 9 

Yargunteius, Lucius, C, 17, 23 
I Yarro, his death at Cannse, FL, ii. 6 
i Yarro, poet, V., ii. 36 
i Yarus, river, FL, iii. 2 
Yarns killed in Germany, FL,iv-12; V., 

ii. 117, 118, 119 
Yatinius, V., ii. 69 
Vejentes, FL, i. 12 
Ye'lleius, grandfather of the author, V., 

ii. 6 
Yellica,FL,iv.l2 
Yeneti, FL, iii. 10 
Yentidius defeats the Parthians, FL, iv. 

9; V., ii. 65, 78 
Yercingetorix, FL, iii. 10 
Yettius Picens, Fr., B. i . 
Yienne, V., ii. 121 
Yilla I'ublica, Ep. ii. 4 
Yindelicia, V., ii. 39, 95 
Yinicius, Marcus, V., i. 1, 13; ii. 113, 

at que alibi 
Yirgil, prince of poets, V., ii. 36 
Yirginius, FL, i. 24 
Yiriathus, FL, ii. 17 ; V., ii. 1, 90 
Yiridomarus. FL, ii. 4 
Yisurgis, V., ii. 105 



560 



INDEX. 



Umbrenus Publius, his transactions 

with the deputies of the Allobroges, 

C, 40 
Volsini, war of the Romans with them, 

FL, i. 21 
Volnx, son of Bocchus, J., 101, 105. His 

meeting with Sylla, J., 106, 107 
Voting by ballot, remarks on, Ep. i. 11 
TJtica, J., 25, 63. Built, V., i. 2 
Vulso, Manlius, subdues Gallogrsecia, 

V., ii. 39 
Vulturcius, Titus, accompanies the Al- 

lobrogian deputies on their departure 

from "Rome, C, 41. Arrested, C, 45. 

Makes a full confession, C, 47. Re- 



warded by the senate for his testi- 
mony, C, 50 

Wealth, too much regarded, C, 12 
Will of Caesar, V. t ii. 59 
Wills made amidst preparation for bat- 
tle, V., ii. 5 

Xanthippus, FL, ii. 2 
Xerxes in a toga, V., ii. 33 

Zama, an important city, besieged by 
Metellus, J., 56. Its vigorous defence, 
J., 57, 60. Metellus raises the siege, 
J., 61; FL, iii. 1. 



THE END. 



WHITING, BEATJEOET HOUSE, STEAND. 



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